PHOEBE AND FRED

Two rescued basset hounds with unique abilities take center stage in this novella.

The Watsons (Henry, Miranda, and their two children, 11-year-old Lydia and 10-year-old Lewis) are sitting at their breakfast table when they hear the engine of Henry’s old Jaguar XK-120 roadster roar. Sitting at the wheel is Fred, the younger of the two basset hounds they have adopted from a rescue shelter. By his side is Phoebe. Both bassets are wearing driving goggles, and they are off on a chaotic joyride that will rattle the quiet little village of Harmony. The unconventional Watsons, relative newcomers to Harmony, live in a ramshackle, Gothic structure high on a hill overlooking the village and have been the subject of suspicion among the gossips. Henry is an eccentric loner who works on new contraptions in his workshop, including a clever refitting of the Jaguar that makes it possible for the bassets to drive. Johnson describes Miranda as a “psychic and prognosticator,” and among her talents is the ability to whip up special Native American remedies and recipes. Realizing the bassets possess remarkable skills, she begins preparing a mixture of “Basset Brain Broth,” which increases their powers to communicate with their humans telepathically and sometimes even vocally. Johnson’s humorously quirky, free-wheeling novella follows the escapades of these precocious pooches. And along the way, he pens a biting takedown of the “harmony” in small-town life, as villagers divide into pro-canine and anti-canine contingents. The latter group is headed by the story’s chief villain, the black-coated, black-hatted Rev. Earnest O. Treadwell, a character whose rants eventually become tiresome. The thinly veiled parody of today’s divided social landscape—and the harm caused by bigotry and religious intolerance—has several moments of true poignancy, as when the bassets are unfairly accused of causing a fire and run away into the dangerous woods. So, there will be a few tears. The charming, feel-good work is best as a chapter book for the younger set, but it also offers passionate dog lovers an amusing, offbeat, wish-fulfillment fantasy.

An entertaining and imaginative canine tale with some well-targeted social messaging.