Colby RodowskyCríticas

An eight-year-old girl has to give up her dream of a puppy and take in a relative's dog.

A great book for telling the message that it doesn't matter the age of a dog, they are still going to be the best pet they can be(with the proper care and training), the book really has a unique message most books about dogs don't tend to have, an old dog can still be a lovable dogs.

I think this book does a fairly good job of showing how the loss of a loved one effects people differently and some merits of grief counseling. However, overall I just felt like this was a bit boring and lacking more substance.

Two years after her sister Mog's murder by a car thief, Annie finds herself graduating from high school and about to embark on paths her sister never got to travel. Her fears about the future compound her bereavement and she begins seeing a therapist. Complicating her progress is the fact that she is falling for Mog's ex-boyfriend and he for her.

A quick and fun read. 13-year-old Kiara finds herself with a bunch of relatives she never knew existed. The mean and evil grandmother reminded me of my own unlamented Great-grandmother. Touches on lots of familial themes- love, loyalty, betrayal, expectations & more. Warmly told and sweet.

Rosie is sure her summer will be the worst ever. Her best friend moved away and she has nothing to do. But then the new neighbor moves in with a dog that looks incredibly familiar. Can it be Sandy the Superdog, from Rosie's favorite book series? Time will tell.

This book takes some time getting into. The language used is strange; and I don't know any child who would speak like Rosie does. I also don't know any child with an obsession with the thesaurus, either, so I guess that is explained. I like that Rosie is not perfect. It makes her seem more real to me. I also like that her biggest life issue is that she feels like she'll have a boring summer. That is really refreshing in a book, and I know that it is something that my students go through, although they are usually connected to an X-Box rather than playing outside. The rest of Rosie's life is idyllic. I'm not sure how realistic that would be for my students. Ages 7- 10.

Rodowsky, C. (1999). Not my dog. New York, NY: Farrar Straus Giroux.

For years, Ellie Martin asked her parents if she could have a puppy. Her parents’ response was always the same. When she turns nine, she could have her own puppy. Ellie plans to name him something special; give him food; teach him to sit and stay; play with him, and love him a lot. Ellie imagines that she will either have a large dog like a German shepherd or a small dog like a miniature poodle. When her Great-aunt Margaret is forced to move into an apartment that does not allow pets, the Martins agree to let Great-aunt Margaret’s dog, Preston, live with them. Nevertheless, Ellie is disappointed when she sees Preston, because he is a “square brown dog with sticking-up ears and a skinny tail” (p. 17). He is not a puppy. When Ellie’s parents tell her to play with Preston or take him on walks, she insists that Preston is not her dog. Preston, however, would play a key role in Ellie’s life, changing how she views him.

This short chapter book is perfect for young readers. It touches upon a few issues that have universal implications, such as growing up and aging. Ellie believes that she can handle the responsibility of owning a pet. The book also briefly mentions how Great-aunt Margaret must move because she is getting older, and it is too difficult for her to live by herself. Ellie’s character is convincing. It takes a while for her to accept Preston as her own dog.

Overall, I enjoyed Not My Dog. Readers will fall in love with Preston, because of his faithfulness, bravery, and intelligence. The black and white water-colored illustrations also perfectly capture the characters’ expressions. When Preston realizes that Great-aunt Margaret is leaving, he sadly looks out of the window. That illustration is heart wrenching. The softness of the watercolors works well with this tender story.

Hannah covers up her mother's excessive drinking until tragedy strikes and the secret is forced into the open.

Wow. This was an excellent book on the overlooked topic of family abduction. It is age appropriate (8 to 12 would probably be good) but realistic. It clearly shows the devastating consequences family abduction has on children. The two children in the story, Elsie and Tommy, are being hidden by their mother. They are not allowed to go to school or make any friends, or even talk to strangers at all, and Tommy is not getting the medical attention he needs. I think even adults would find this book useful and educational. Highly recommended!

This book is written from Annie's point of view, two years after the murder of her older sister Mog. Details of the time are referred to in flashbacks. Annie's mother reacts to the death by denying Mog's death and acting as if it hadn't happened, or that Mog hadn't really existed. Two years on Annie now has to make her own way and not follow in Mog's footsteps. It is at this point Annie needs counselling. By setting the time two years after the death the author shows how grief is a long-term issue and that grief is often hardest the second year.

Despite the almost epidemic nature of the problem, parental kidnapping is not a theme that is seen often in literature, and non-fiction about the same issue is not much more prevalent. The two fiction books about the subject I know of (besides books that only briefly mention it and the rash of "heroic mother takes kids from evil ex-husband when the courts conspire against her" books of such stupidity I will not touch) are the book Taking Terri Mueller by Norma Fox Mazer and Twice Taken by Susan Beth Pfeifer. Both are good authors, but both books fail, the latter being the worse of the two. When my sister told me Clay was in fact a good book on the subject, I was reluctant, but willing to try it. To my surprise it was a wonderful book that is just what is needed.

The book begins when a new girl moves in next to Elsie's home. Elsie wants to make friends with her, but her mother has warned her not to make friends. She spends most of her time with her brother, Tommy, who's odd behavior is a concern to her. Her mother, however, seems to not notice he is different in any way. After an attempt to make friends with the girl, her mother finds out and they move. We learn through flashback sequences that the family has been on the run for four years. Her parents divorced and after the children's father recieved custody of them, their mother took them while they were in the care of a babysitter. Since then, they have not gone to school or been allowed friends and have lived lives as fugitives. But it is only when her brother becomes desperately ill and her mother still pretends nothing is wrong that Elsie knows she must do something.

The characters in the book are well rounded. The reader gets the sense of why the mother kidnapped her children while at the same time not condoning her actions. I also liked the realism of the children being yanked around and isolated - in the other two books mentioned the main character was allowed to live a basically normal life, which is laughably unrealistic. I would have liked to see a book that explored more of the issue, but since this is a book for the nine to twelve age child it is not really a complaint. If you need to understand abduction by a parent through the eyes of a child, this book is perfect.

Until now, ten-year-old Ben has believed that life is made up of "all right" and "not all right" stuff, but when his father remarries and the couple adopts a Chinese baby, he wonders which kind of stuff will prevail.

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Book Links, March 2007, page 49:

"Ellie longs to own a ppuppy, so when her parents decide to adopt a relative's dog, Preston, instead of a new puppy, disappointed Ellie insist that he is 'not my dog.' This quick-paced story unfolds as homesick preston becomes comfortable with Ellie and she forms a bond with the dog."