MORRIS BROOKSIDE, A DOG

by Marjorie Weinman Sharmat ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 1, 1973

Sharmat's dog story depends on a more sophisticated level of recognition than does Graham's Benjy, above, but you don't have to own a dog to appreciate Morris' problems with his anxious owners. ""Morris,"" Mr. Brookside frets one day, ""you hang around the house too much. . . . What's wrong with you? You're a good-looking dog, Morris, and a smart dog. You're a dog who could have all the friends you want if you would only try a little. Think about it."" When Morris comes home alone (""Back already?""), he's given supper and pushed out again: ""There are plenty of nice dogs in the neighborhood. Go out. Get acquainted. Give yourself a chance."" Of course what Morris does bring home at last is not a ""nice dog"" but a dirty, smelly, stray with fleas. (""Morris, you have to be careful of strangers."") ""That's the last dog in the world I would have chosen for Morris,"" Mr. Brookside says, but as he and his wife must let Morris out or the new dog in if they are to get any sleep at night, they finally adopt Morris' friend, naming her Princess Brookside to ""give her something to look forward to."" Himler's fine-line drawings of the elderly Brooksides, their Victorian home and the two mutely eloquent dogs help to keep Sharmat's shrewd observations at a witty distance.

Pub Date: Sept. 1, 1973

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Holiday House

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1973

Categories: CHILDREN'S