Have I got a treasure for you!
This book is charming. It was the cover illustration that lured me in first. I could
not resist the happy dog faces. I saw the author’s name… Patricia MacLachlan is
best known for her Newbery medal winner, Sarah, Plain and Tall. Reading
the jacket cover was not enough. I was enticed into reading the first chapter.
And then the second chapter. But I forced myself to stop. This book needed to
be shared. And so my daughters and I proceeded to read two to three chapters together
each night. We wished it would never end.
Young William is ten. His
sister, Elinor, is four. They live in an ordinary house in an ordinary town
with their ordinary parents. Ordinary is my word. They are simply – normal. And
there is nothing wrong with that. Not at all. Their life is ordinary until
their dad decides to leave. Again. Except this time is different. He left
letters for both children which makes this time seem more final to William.
In response to Papa’s
departure, Mama takes Elinor and William to the pound with her. She intends to
fill up the empty space in the house with a dog. Small town. Small pound. There
are exactly four dogs in residence. Bryn, the mutt with the alpha personality.
Grace, the elegant Greyhound. Neo, the enormous Great Pyrenees. And Bitty, the
tiny terrier. Unable to make a decision, Mama chooses to take them all. Oh, and
a cat, Lula, at Elinor’s request.
Papa is a college
professor and a would-be writer. He left home to find the “magic” to inspire
him to write. While he is out searching, Mama has unknowingly brought the “magic”
home. Immediately, Bryn becomes Mama’s protector. She stays at Mama’s side
wherever she goes. And Grace chooses to be Elinor’s caretaker. William finds
that he is sharing his bed with both Neo and Bitty. He doesn’t mind. Things
have changed at home no matter how Mama pretends nothing has happened. She hasn’t
even hugged him for days. The dogs are filling in the voids.
William notices that
Elinor understands the dogs. She speaks on their behalf with words a
four-year-old wouldn’t use. She can communicate their desires for tepid water or a red coat. Next William watches
Elinor, their grandmother and the dogs interact. He thinks Gran is playing
pretend with Elinor, but Gran confides that it is “magic.” Doesn’t William
believe in magic? It must be because he is not young enough. Or not old enough.
Or not brave enough. William is hurt, but intrigued.
The reader knows what
William does not. The dogs are talking. In fact, they are the only ones having
the truly serious conversations. They are waiting for the family to express
their feelings in words – to let all of the hurt out so that the healing can
begin. They are providing the encouragement and support that the family needs.
And Papa is not left out. He comes back. And finds the “magic.”
I found this to be a
lovely, gentle, read-aloud. We probably would have read it in one sitting, but
I wanted to stretch out the pleasure. All three of us were excited for story
time and we all had trouble putting it down. There were many pleasant surprises,
but we enjoyed the dog’s comments the most. Each dog has a definite personality
and voice.
They were also my only
stumbling block. Their words were introduced with the speaking dog’s name in
bold and center, followed by their words in italics. It helped to realize that
they were not part of the human conversation, but reading it aloud I felt
compelled to state the dog’s name before reading their words. Their comments
were so short at times that there was little room for a significant change in
voice. Besides, we are really just hearing their thoughts… aren’t we?
Despite my own faltering,
the book was a huge success. Recommended for 2nd-4th
graders for certain, but my 7th grader enjoyed it every bit as much
as my 2nd grader!
No comments:
Post a Comment