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

102 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 1988

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...

[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.

[Matthew Elliot · 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.