Dog!

by Prudence Andrew

A ten-year-old boy who is forbidden to have a dog finds a stray and hides him in an abandoned car.

Genres: Fiction, Childrens, Animals

Paperback

About the author

Her historical novels in publication order:

1. The Hooded Falcon
2. Ordeal By Silence
3. A Question of Choice
4. The Earthworms, also published as The Constant Star
5. A Sparkle From the Coal
6. A New Creature

Andrew's first series of books for children follows the adventures of a boy named Ginger and his friends--all working-class kids from a variety of ethnic backgrounds who live in the city. Ray notes in Twentieth-Century Children's Writers that, when the 'Ginger' series was first published in the 1960s, it was among the earliest 'to include black characters as an integral part of the story.' In Ginger among the Pigeons, the fourth book in the series, Ginger and his friends help old Mr. Bean protect his champion homing pigeon from a competitor who will do anything to win."

Reviews

[Johnr66 · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book as a child nearly 40 years ago for a school book report. I recall it being one of the better books I have read in my younger days.

[Stephanie Lee · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book sometime in the 80s and fell in love with it. In my perfect world, Scruffy the dog found his way and lived happily ever after with the Boxcar children...

[Jamie Dacyczyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

After rereading "Snow Treasure", I'm on a mini-quest to revisit some of the random, obscure books that I remember reading as a kid. I suspect this was just in a box of handmedown books that we got from who-knows-where. I probably last read this thirty years ago, but I remember a LOT of details from it.

It's about a boy (Andrew) whose family has just moved to a shiny new housing development after living in a crummy apartment. At neither location were dogs allowed, but Andrew is desperate for a dog. One day he sees a small stray dog almost get hit by a bus before running off, so Andrew vows to find the dog. He eventually does, and (with the help of an understanding younger family living at the other end of the development) he finds a way to keep the dog (whom he names Scruffy) in an abandoned old car in a wooded area on the other side of a stream. He spends his days pretending to go off an play like other kids, but secretly he's visiting Scruffy.

Days/weeks pass, and all's well until one day Andrew finds Scruffy sick (it's never explained what the dog is sick with), and in desperation he decides to spend the night with the dog. The dog's condition is getting worse and worse, so Andrew decides he must take the dog to help, even if it means giving up the dog. Unbeknownst to him, the stream has flooded from rain/melting, and he nearly gets swept away before rescuers find him and the dog. They're both in poor shape, but after some care they both make a full recovery. Still, dogs aren't allowed in Andrew's housing development, but the story ends on a happy note because Andrew's overly tidy, nagging mother has had a change of heart (after nearly losing her son and falling in love with the little dog herself). His parents surprise him by swapping houses with another family who live in a shabbier house in another neighborhood so that he can keep the dog. The end.

It's a pretty short book, and I read it in about half an hour. I was surprised by how much of the story I still rememered, though of course now through an adult lens certain things hit differently. For example, Andrew's parents yearning for a better house for their family, and being on a waitlist for eight years to get into a nicer housing development.... only to give that up because their son finds a stray dog. Sheesh, Andrew, it's sweet, but you could have at least said "thank you" to your mother. I was also a bit more sad for the dog this time around. As a kid, I wasn't particularly bothered by the scenes of the dog being sick because I knew it was going to end well, but reading those parts as an adult (and having now lost pets of my own), I felt much more heartbroken for the little dog. Phew, that ending was a close call!

This was definitely an influential book for me as a kid. I remember having a keen desire to keep a "secret" pet of my own, and I can't tell you how many times I tried to befriend a mouse that one of our cats brought in. I used to secretly keep them in the oven of my play kitchen (secure, but not airtight, and with a clear window so I could see them), and try to get them to accept water and birdseed and my friendship. I'm sure this experience was traumatizing for the poor mice before I eventually let them go after a day or so of failed domestication. I even tried with a fiesty chipmunk that one cat brought it, and I was almost able to pet that one before it bit my finger. Whoops.

This was a sweet little trip down memory lane. Worth the $3.99 I paid for an old used copy online, and now I'll place this in a Little Free Library somewhere to charm/traumatize another generation of children.

[Janet · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read this book because lately I am studying how writers of books for young readers tackle stories about dogs. And also I am curious about what type of books really appeal to kids. This one was in a free library situation and I picked it up and read it in a day. I think a young reader really would enjoy this book bc it's accessible in that it has enough description but not too much; it has enough emotion, plot and action to keep a young reader's attention, but it is still simple enough to understand. Easy reading level, mostly basic vocabulary and simple metaphors. A great moral lesson about how to care for another creature and how to make choices to put someone or something else's needs before your own. A sweet ending. I plan to run it under my daughter's eyes and try to get her to read it. It is set in the 1970s so she may still struggle with a few things. But, as far a middle grade book that also appeals to adults, this book is not that type of book. It is more of a "reader." Which makes sense being that it was originally part of the Weekly Reader program.

[George Taylor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Man, this was both heartbreaking and heartwarming all at the same time and I was taken back to childhood. I remember finding this book with the same cover in a second hand book shop and taking it home to read. I am hoping to find a lot of books that I read as a child to re read and this was such a joy to reread. There were little things I didn't remember happening, but I was struck with how much I remembered despite it only being a mere 100 pages long with illustrations.

I won't ever forget this book and that horrible character of a land lord or whatever he was. The man with tattoos on his hands. I don't even want to remember his name let alone mention him. Though honestly the main character probably would have died otherwise.

[Valerie Dieter]

I LOVED this book as a child 💜💜💜

[Nola · Rating 2 out of 5]

I did not at all like the idea of the boy keeping the dog in an abandoned car. Children (even adults) all over the world come up with their own likely-to-end-badly ideas of how to keep a pet when you aren't allowed one, they don't need any encouragement!

[Sally · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really adored this story, as I did with pretty much anything to do with dogs!

[Breanna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read with my Nanny when I was really little, was nostalgic.