In this lovely sequel to Waggit’s Tale (2008), which introduced the irrepressible former stray, Howe delves deeper into the bond between humans and dogs and explores friendship, loyalty, courage and doing what’s right. At the outset, Waggit is chained on a farm, believing himself to have been inexplicably abandoned by his loving former owner. Escaping this peril, he meets Felicia, a bohemian woman who has the gift of understanding and communicating with dogs. Along the road back to his Central Park home, they encounter Lug, an abused, fearful pit bull. When they find Waggit’s original team of strays, he is heartily welcomed, and Felicia and Lug are warily accepted. All is not as it seems, though: Adventures ensue, and allegiances are tested. In the hands of a less-skilled writer, the magical realism of the dog-whispering Felicia might seem unnatural and maudlin at best; here, her relationship with the dogs is made wonderfully plausible. Waggit’s growth in self-understanding is also fully developed and well handled, and the ending will satisfy readers deeply. (Fantasy. 9-12)
Pub Date: May 1, 2009
ISBN: 978-0-06-124264-9
Page Count: 304
Publisher: HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2009
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
From McDonald (Tundra Mouse, 1997, etc.), a haunting, dramatic glimpse of the Bone Keeper, a trickster with special transformational powers. Some say Bone Woman is a ghost; some envision her with three heads that view past, present, and future simultaneously. Most, however, call her the “Skeleton Maker” or “Keeper of Bones.” Chanting, shaking, moaning, and wailing, the Bone Keeper is frenzied as she sorts bones; not until the end of the book are readers told, in murmuring lines of free verse, what the Bone Keeper is creating in her mysterious desert cave. Out of the darkness, a wolf springs to life, leaps from the cave, howling, a symbol of resurrection and proof of life’s cyclical nature. Also keeping readers guessing as to the Bone Keeper’s final creation are Karas’s paintings; they, too, require that the final piece of the puzzle be placed before all are understood. The coloring and textures embody the desert setting in the evening, showing the fearsome cave and sandy shadows that wait to release the mystery of the bones. (Picture book. 5-8)
Pub Date: March 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-7894-2559-9
Page Count: 30
Publisher: DK Publishing
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 1999
In this Easy-to-Read entry is a dog large enough to chase Clifford the big red dog right out of town. Tiny is a dog who is the exact opposite of what his name implies. When he gets dirty, his owner—a small boy—has to search to find a receptacle big enough to scrub him down. A pail, the sink, and even the bathtub are dwarfed by the presence of this giant hound; only the little boy’s wading pool will do. The child gets Tiny washed, only to be dirtied himself when his pooch discovers a new mud puddle to play in. Both boy and dog come clean in the end. Davis’s playful illustrations romp alongside the beginning reader text, using an easy, loping giganticism to portray this big pet’s appeal. (Picture book. 5-7)
Pub Date: Feb. 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-670-87962-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 1999
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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