A DOG ON BARKHAM STREET

Edward Frost of Barkham Street had one overwhelming fear and one desire. His fear is of the bully next door, his desire, a dog of his own. When the Frost family refuses to move to Alaska or some other remote spot to avoid the bully and when they adamantly deny him a dog on the basis that he is unready to care for it properly, Edward is close to despair. And it is only the sudden appearance of a hobo uncle that delivers him, finally, from his two major problems. Mary Stolz writes with unusual success for high school readers. Here she manifests her strong talent for getting into the heart of her main character and presenting him as a convincing and interesting individual, revealing as good a grasp on preadolescent boys as she has on teen-age girls. A Dog on Barkham Street hinges on a situation which is at once engrossing and close to the concerns of the readers at whom it is directed.