Double or Nothing

by Phoebe Erickson

"Two of them!" cries Ellen. "No wonder we keep seeing black dogs!"
"What do we do now?" asks her brother Jeff. "Mother and Father will never let us keep both."
"I know," says Ellen. "We'll only let them see one dog at a time. We'll always keep one hidden."

But it's not easy to hide a frisky dog. And Ellen and Jeff soon find themselves in double trouble.

Genres: Animals

111 pages

First published January 1, 1958

About the author

Phoebe Erickson began illustrating books for children in 1937 when she came to New York from Chicago. In 1945 she started writing books as well as illustrating them.

The twelfth of thirteen children, Miss Erickson was born in Door County Peninsula, Wisconsin. She attended the Chicago Art Institute where she studied design and painting.

Phoebe Erickson was born November 23, 1907 in North Bay, Wisconsin. She grew up on a farm where the love of animals and nature would serve as inspirations for many of her illustrations and stories. Phoebe Erickson attended the Chicago Art Institute from 1931-1933 and studied at Columbia University in New York.

She began writing and illustrating children's books in the 1940s, publishing Black Penny, a story of a young girl and a horse, in 1946. Phoebe Erickson also illustrated a number of other authors' work, including several of Thornton Burgess' animal stories for young children, Anna Sewell's classic Black Beauty and Felix Salten's Bambi's Children. Phoebe Erickson worked in a variety of media and her illustrations are noted for the accurate detail and loving depictions of animals and nature.

While she wrote and illustrated primarily to entertain and interest young readers, Phoebe Erickson believed that her books conveyed a message that could be felt by children, such as the cruelty of steel traps evident in Daniel 'Coon, and that they could understand this best when the message isn't forced or blatant. Phoebe Erickson also believed that young readers want characters in books, especially the children, to be realistic not "goody-goodies" so they can identify with them and their problems. Her stories try to convey these beliefs along with her respect for nature and all life, and that caring for any creature demands responsibility and respect.

Reviews

[Shanna · Rating 2 out of 5]

A brother and sister find a pair of stray dogs who look identical. The family was planning on getting a dog, but the siblings don't think their parents will be too keen on two dogs, so they concoct a plan to only let the parents see one dog at a time, until they can convince them to let both dogs stay. Maybe it's the innocence of another time, but I thought the characters' actions and choices were odd.

[Judy · Rating 3 out of 5]

My brothers had this book. I would have read it in the late 1960s and liked it, which is why it's probably still around here someplace.

My rating reflects my brothers' opinions rather than my own.

[Lenny Husen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this book as a kid. A very sweet story about two kids and two dogs. Not for adults, since that pretty much is the entire plot.