My Brother Mike

by Doris Gates, Wesley Dennis (Illustrator)

An orphan boy adopts the runt of a litter of fox terriers, names the pup Lucky, and finds friendship and greater luck than he's ever imagined. By the author of the award-winning "Blue Willow."

191 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1948

About the author

Doris Gates, 1901-1987

A lifelong resident of California, Doris Gates was for many years, she was a librarian for the Fresno County Free Library. However, she is remembered for her many beloved children's books. Of these, the best known and most influential was Blue Willow (1940), selected as a Newbery Honor Book in 1941. Many consider Blue Willow to have been the first realistic, problem novel for children, and it was recognized both for its lasting literary merit and for its expansion of the range of subjects which could be explored in books for children. She died in 1987.

Reviews

[Mike Orta · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm glad I had a childhood that included roaming the countryside, with no fear of talking to strangers, and even adopting a stray dog. This book is worth reading especially to a class of 5th graders. It can bring out a wonderful class discussion about life in general and values specifically.

[Carrie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Yet another library discarded juvenile fiction book! This one's *really* old--from 1948--and features a 10-year-old boy placed by the county with a rural family who is clearly only interested in the $20 a month they receive for boarding. I love these old books because they're a rare window into life in another time, when it was okay for a boy to roam around town all day with filthy bare feet and no shirt, a time when a boy might be thrilled to earn a nickel for selling worms, a time of tramps with bindles who rode in boxcars and slept by abandoned quarries. Life was very different in those days, but the emotions and motivations of the kid come through and stand the test of time.