Book Review of “A Dog’s Life” by Ann M Martin
Review
by Carolyn Mullin 12.13.12
Book Description
Publication Date: January 1, 2007 | Age Level: 8
and up
Newbery Honor author Ann Martin's "heartwrenching and
heartwarming" (Kirkus) dog story, now in paperback, with After Words bonus
material.
Squirrel and her brother Bone begin their lives in a toolshed behind someone's
summer house. Their mother nurtures them and teaches them the many skills they
will need to survive as stray dogs. But when their mother is taken from them
suddenly and too soon, the puppies are forced to make their own way in the
world, facing humans both gentle and brutal, busy highways, other animals, and
the changing seasons. When Bone and Squirrel become separated, Squirrel must
fend for herself, and in the process makes two friends who in very different
ways define her fate.
Product Details
Ann M.
Martin
From Wikipedia
Ann M.
Martin is
the bestselling author of the momentous series The Baby-sitters Club, as well
as the Main Street series. Her other acclaimed novels include "A Dog's
Life," "Belle Teal," "Here Today," and the Newbery
Honor Book "A Corner of the Universe." She lives in upstate New York.
For more information, visit www.scholastic.com/bsc.
First Pages:
THE HOUSE IN THE COUNTRY
REVIEW:
I believe that there is a time and place (be it reading to
your kids, be it reading for yourself)_ that young books are meant for adults
like myself to enjoy. Christmas is a
time of hectic running around (like today is the day to work on the Christmas
tree and it’s almost 3pm and nothing has gone up on the tree yet except for
lights!) But there is a lighted bow on
the front door and today I can ask my husband to work on the outside of the
house! Lol)
This book is just incredible told from the viewpoint of the
dog. Puppies Squirrel and Bone come into
this world in a tool shed behind a summer house. Sounds like your typical stray, right?The tool
shed has cats, birds and mice. But who
would say that there isn’t room a couple more?
I know that when we lived in our house inland, I said that since there
was a dog house that my stray (“BEAR”) who was in her last two weeks of
pregnancy and found wandering around LA.
Will tell that story on my blog sometime!
Squirrel and Bone, alongside their mother, take up residence
in a wheelbarrow inside the tool shed. While food is scarce, and often hard to
find, the family is warm, and safe from predators. During their short time in
the tool shed, Squirrel and Bone learn the rules of hunting from their mother. She
disappears one day, after setting out for food, Squirrel and Bone know that
they must leave the shed in the hopes of finding a better life for themselves.
When the two siblings are separated, Squirrel must get used
to being alone. That is, until she meets up with Moon, another dog who
resembles Bone. Over the course of their time together, they meet up with
humans - both good and bad - and many dangerous obstacles that stand in their
way to make a better life for themselves, but they never give up hope, and keep
trucking, dreaming of a day when things will be better for themselves.
When I was teaching in the classroom 17 years ago I would buy the BABY-SITTERS
CLUB books by Ann M. Martin. The
students were severely emotionally challenged Middle School children in their residential facility. These books allowed my students to travel
into the lives of the ones that they were reading!
As a rescuer of dogs back when we lived inland in a house
(lost in the crash) and we moved to the beach to rent! And we love this too …. Because we are beach lovers!
I’m an avid animal lover (rescued guinea
pigs, rats, birds, rabbits, and a
chinchilla along with three rescues (a blind puppy that we trained to be able
to live in a home and adopted her out to the lady who also wanted her but she
wasn’t able to train her like we did, a Basenji with lots of emotional issues
and then the Labrador Retriever who had her 11 puppies in a wonderful birthing
box in our bedroom and we raised them and adopted them out through the Humane
Society!) Those were all adopted out
(with incredible stories for all of them) and were strays sent to kill shelters
and we rescued them, fostered them and then adopted them all out. We now have another stray (of 8 years living
at our beach house and is 10 years old
today!) and that is Sandie (Sharpei Mix) and had been returned to the kill
shelter TWICE.
I was so excited to find A DOG’S LIFE. It will make you so engrossed that you will
have to finish the book in one day. A
DOG’S LIFE does tell the brutal life of a stray animal. The abuse was as is usually happening … at the hand of humans… kind and unkind. And it tells what they go through on a day by
day basis to simply find some food. The
story is told in the first person- rather dog person- a narrative by
Squirrel. This book by Martin will be an
incredible novel for readers of all ages.
This book just touched the hearts of all, and all in the hope of someday,
all animals will live in peace, and none will be left "unwanted."
At this time of year I think of the homeless and “unwanted”
who are on the streets in our county who live outside in the cold in tents and
down by the riverside in the next town over, and for the ones who come to the shelters
it is so much better. I am volunteering
at a women with their children shelter that has steps to get out and make it on
their own given time and being taught what to do to qualify for a job, taking
care of their children who needed to be removed from their home. My husband and I also put together school
items and Christmas items in shoe boxes for BOYS and MOM, and GIRLS and
MOM.
We’re delivering them to the
shelter soon! And then we will go to
Rescue Mission (that the women’s shelter is connected to!) and take a boxes of food and clothes and my
AVON products that have sat on the shelf for a year! We really enjoy serving them in whatever
way we can!
Maybe you can take
some time to check out the rescue shelters and if nothing else, you could go to
their online sites and share pictures of the strays and unwanted online! We have a 20 year old list called NO MORE
HOMELESS ANIMALS on Yahoo groups where we do this with many others! The response to that and the ABUSED animals
list have helped so many animals all over the United States!
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