Jump to ratings and reviews
Rate this book
Rate this book
Lost Dog! by R. A. Montgomery takes YOU on a real-life adventure when your puppy (and best friend) Homer goes missing. Your 6-8 year old reader will follow a trail of clues, scare away some bullies, and save the day! Choose Your Own Adventure Lost Dog! is an interactive gamebook in which YOU decide what happens next. You are pretty sure that Homer went toward the park, but maybe you should check out the local radio station instead? Could Homer the dog have his own show? What will you do when you meet the cowboys in the park? Oh no! Is there a little kid in the water? You'll have to jump in and help! For readers that enjoyed other titles from the Choose Your Own Adventure Dragonlark series The Haunted House by R. A. Montgomery, Return to Haunted House by R. A. Montgomery, and Dino Lab by Anson Montgomery.

80 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1985

1 person is currently reading
58 people want to read

About the author

R.A. Montgomery

156 books121 followers
Raymond A. Montgomery (born 1936 in Connecticut) was an author and progenitor of the classic Choose Your Own Adventure interactive children's book series, which ran from 1979 to 2003. Montgomery graduated from Williams College and went to graduate school at Yale University and New York University (NYU). He devoted his life to teaching and education.

In 2004, he co-founded the Chooseco publishing company alongside his wife, fellow author/publisher Shannon Gilligan, with the goal of reviving the CYOA series with new novels and reissued editions of the classics.

He continued to write and publish until his death in 2014.

Ratings & Reviews

What do you think?
Rate this book

Friends & Following

Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!

Community Reviews

5 stars
14 (17%)
4 stars
12 (14%)
3 stars
28 (34%)
2 stars
21 (25%)
1 star
6 (7%)
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
Profile Image for Josiah.
3,487 reviews157 followers
December 28, 2024
These Bantam Skylark Choose Your Own Adventure books, targeted at younger readers than the main series, have a wide variety of genres. There's realistic fiction, survival stories, fantasy, science fiction, history, and more. Lost Dog! takes a topic relevant to any dog owner—your canine friend wandering off and not returning—and makes a short story with numerous plot possibilities. Having a pet go missing is scary; all sorts of awful scenarios spring to mind, but it's important to act rationally if you're to find your pet quickly. The more logical your choices in Lost Dog!, the sooner you'll likely be reunited.

Ralph was sentenced to sleep outside last night after he gnawed your father's shoe, but this morning you can't find him. Your parents and older brother aren't concerned that anything has happened to the dog, but you're worried, and so is your little sister, Jessica. She'll help you search for him, but where should you look? You could go to the fort in the woods, where you and other neighborhood kids hang out. Ralph likes it there. Unfortunately, you only find a notorious bully named Schooner at the fort with his friends. Spying on them will give you inside information about a dirty trick they plan to play on Old Pete, a friendly man who lives alone in a nearby cabin. You won't let Schooner be mean to him, and heading over to warn Old Pete just might lead you to Ralph. Leaving the fort without spying on Schooner could take you to the park, where other mini adventures await. Any way you go, you'll either locate Ralph unharmed and happy to see you, or reach an end before finding him, but feeling confident you'll be reunited soon.

If instead of visiting the fort you go to the radio station to make a public announcement about Ralph, you also have the option of notifying the police that he's missing. They can send out an alert and confirm that no dog has been reported hit by a car in the area, which should ease your anxiety. If you talk to the right person at the radio station, you'll be offered the chance to host a children's radio program, your voice is so naturally suited for it. You're frantic about Ralph, but even if you indulge your fantasy and get started with the new show before looking for him, he'll be fine. All is well with Ralph whenever and wherever you discover him. He might amble right up to you while you're searching, leaving it a mystery where he ran off to, or be found helping an animal in distress. He might even dramatically return just in time to be your hero if Schooner bullies you. You'll get Ralph back, guaranteed, if you continue searching. He's eager to see you again.

Several endings abruptly stop short of finding Ralph, but some are humorous enough to make up for it. My favorite is the indignant mother who "rescues" her little son Henry from you, then drags him away by his ear. The looks on their faces are good for a laugh. This book is flighty and undisciplined, and internal consistency is sketchy, but there's something to be said for a potentially sad story that always turns out well, offering comfort to those who have lost a pet. It's nice to celebrate a lost-dog scenario that ends with the pet back home and happy. I'm giving Lost Dog! one and a half stars, but I'll round up to two. I would read it again.
Profile Image for Josiah.
3,487 reviews157 followers
October 5, 2019
These Dragonlark Choose Your Own Adventures, targeted at younger readers than the main series, have a wide variety of genres. There's realistic fiction, survival stories, fantasy, science fiction, history, and more. Lost Dog! takes a topic relevant to any dog owner—your canine friend wandering off and not returning—and makes a short story with numerous plot possibilities. Having a pet go missing is scary; all sorts of awful scenarios spring to mind, but it's important to act rationally if you're to find your pet quickly. The more logical your choices in Lost Dog!, the sooner you'll likely be reunited.

Homer was sentenced to sleep outside last night after he gnawed your father's shoe, but this morning you can't find him. Your parents and older brother aren't concerned that anything has happened to the dog, but you're worried, and so is your little sister Jessica. She'll help you search for him, but where should you look? You could go to the fort in the woods, where you and other neighborhood kids hang out. Homer likes it there. Unfortunately, you only find a notorious bully named Schooner at the fort with his friends. Spying on them will give you inside information about a dirty trick they plan to play on Old Pete, a friendly scientist who lives alone in a nearby cabin. You won't let Schooner be mean to him, and heading over to warn Old Pete just might lead you to Homer. Leaving the fort without spying on Schooner could take you to the park, where other mini adventures await. Any way you go, you'll either locate Homer unharmed and happy to see you, or reach an end before finding him, but feeling confident you'll be reunited soon.

If instead of visiting the fort you go to the radio station to make a public announcement about Homer, you also have the option of notifying the police that he's missing. They can send out an alert and confirm that no dog has been reported hit by a car in the area, which should ease your anxiety. If you talk to the right person at the radio station, you'll be offered the chance to host a children's radio program, your voice is so naturally suited for it. You're frantic about Homer, but even if you indulge your fantasy and get started with the new show before looking for him, he'll be fine. All is well with Homer whenever and wherever you discover him. He might amble right up to you while you're searching, leaving it a mystery where he ran off to, or be found helping an animal in distress. He might even dramatically return just in time to be your hero if Schooner bullies you. You'll get Homer back, guaranteed, if you continue searching. He's eager to see you again.

There are two main differences between this book and the original Bantam Skylark edition. Old Pete seems to be an eccentric scientist here, whereas in the original he was just a nice man living by himself. The second and more intriguing change is your dog's name. Called Ralph in the Bantam Skylark version, your dog is now named Homer, and Keith Newton's illustrations make it clear he's the same Homer as in the Dragonlark edition of The Haunted House and its sequels. "You" look different, but it's definitely the same Homer. Several endings abruptly stop short of finding your dog, but some are humorous enough to make up for it. My favorite is the indignant mother who "rescues" her little son Henry from you. Lost Dog! is flighty and undisciplined, and internal consistency is sketchy, but there's something to be said for a potentially sad story that always turns out well, offering comfort to those who have lost a pet. It's nice to celebrate a lost-dog scenario that ends with the pet back home and happy. I'm giving Lost Dog! one and a half stars, but I'll round up to two. I would read it again.
Profile Image for Monica.
821 reviews
April 15, 2018
Nota: Ésta reseña pretende analizar las serie de aventuras contenida en el presente volumen mediante dos visiones: la del más pequeño y la del adulto, para así poder servir de ayuda en una futura recomendación de lectura y compra. Por lo cual, puede contener ciertos Spoilers

Estás en tu casa una tarde tranquilamente, cuando te das cuenta que tu perro ha desaparecido. Pides ayuda a tus padres..¡pero los adultos siempre están ocupados y no te hacen caso!. Tu hermana se une a ti para ir en búsqueda de Ralph.
‘El caso del perro perdido’ es ,de lejos, uno de los volúmenes más infantiles (en ya una serie de por sí destinada al más pequeño público) de la serie. Aquí nos encontramos con una historia amable, ingenua y hasta algo obsoleta para los tiempos que corren. Bajo la premisa sencilla de las aventuras y desventuras de dos hermanos en búsqueda de su mascota, tendremos resoluciones satisfactorias en su mayoría (tan sólo un par inconclusas, pero que predicen un buen desenlace), con ‘ciertas dosis’ de tensión: por un lado la de una panda de mozalbetes que quiere robar a un anciano que es amigo vuestro y vive en el bosque, otra en la que Ralph desapareció para auxiliar a un perrito herido (que muy posiblemente acabe en vuestra casa también) o una en la que salváis a una niña de ahogarse. En medio de todo esto, están los clásicos recursos de acudir a la policía, explorar el parque y alrededores o ir a la emisora de radio más cercana para grabar un mensaje de atención a la ciudadanía.
Un libro que gustará especialmente a los primeros lectores, y que recomiendo para aquellos que quieran leerle a sus pequeños las virtudes de un mundo antiguo, en dónde los niños campaban a sus anchas y las personas eran casi todas amables con ellos y los animales; en dónde unos pocos eran algo pillos y unos matones de pega.
A ojos del lector adultos, le hace rememorar una época que ya no existe. Si bien puede hacer la tarea de Cicerón con su hijo y enseñarle algo de calidez antes de entrar en el frío y prácticamente despiadado mundo real que es ahora, desgraciadamente, para los niños en lo que debería ser un época mágica e idealista en sus vidas.
Profile Image for Joshua.
9 reviews
January 10, 2018
Read this book to my 4y/o daughter and 5y/o son. For a choose your own adventure, this book has great illustrations so it is easy for children to follow along and participate in the decision making. However, I found the resulting consequences to most decisions almost completely arbitrary, making the story-line feel disjointed, contrived and almost lazy on the part of the author. But overall, the children still enjoyed it and seem to have overlooked these shortcomings.
Profile Image for Kim Hampton.
1,701 reviews37 followers
September 13, 2021
A great way to introduce kids to the Choose Your Own Adventure series.
Profile Image for H.
1,015 reviews
November 21, 2021
Lost dog adventures. What it says on the tin.
307 reviews2 followers
November 22, 2019
Just as inconsequential as the title suggests.
Profile Image for Dolly.
Author 1 book671 followers
November 26, 2011
This is the first time I've introduced our girls to a Choose Your Own Adventure story. It's a fun tale and reminded me of the stories I loved to read when I was a child. I walked them through the story once and then they took it and ran with it. It's a fun story with colorful illustrations and we enjoyed reading it together.
Profile Image for Courtney Chappell.
1,028 reviews2 followers
July 10, 2018
I read this book for my campers during summer camp. They enjoyed it and finding Homer on the pages.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews

Can't find what you're looking for?

Get help and learn more about the design.