People may drift apart
But love can hold them together.
Sometimes we find that love through magic –
Sometimes that magic is all around us.
This is a story about all of these things.
But it's also a story about how
four dogs
and one cat
help one boy
and his sister
save their family.
From the Publisher
"Newbery Medalist MacLachlan tackles the familiar yet always heart-wrenching subject of parental separation in her venerable spare and moving style.... The characters are individualistic, believable, and likable, and the impulsive acquisition and heartwarming presence of the animals suggest an affecting work of realistic fiction."--Publishers Weekly"MacLachlan writes with simplicity and limpid clarity, acknowledging strong emotions evoked by the father’s departure and depicting the events that follow with sensitivity and bits of humor."--Booklist
"Newbery Medal-winning author Patricia MacLachlan has written a captivating and charming book with just the right amount of magic, love and family bonding that will delight readers of all ages."--Kidsreads.com
* "The spare prose, in William’s authentic voice, conveys pathos and humor; the boy’s cautious observations and Papa’s earnest explanations are offset by Elinor’s droll one-liners and the dogs’ succinct comments. Deft characterization adds richness and depth to a deceptively simple narrative, and appealing charcoal pencil illustrations throughout reflect the action."--SLJ, starred review
"The combination of a fanciful plot and likable, honest, straightforward characters makes this a solid cross-genre work with lots of appeal. The animal voices add further interest, as the pets observe the emotions of the humans around them, particularly William, before the people are even aware of their own feelings. While this will obviously draw in fans of animal tales, it will also attract fans of realism willing to stretch."--Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books
School Library Journal
Gr 3–5—Realism blends seamlessly with fantasy as a boy struggles to trust that his fractured family can become whole once more. When Papa walks out yet again, Mama decides they need a dog and takes fifth-grader William and his four-year-old sister, Elinor, to the animal shelter where they choose not one but four dogs: Bryn, Bitty, Neo, and Grace, and one cat, Lula. The animals fill some of the empty space left by Papa's absence, and first Elinor and then William realize they can hear the dogs talking to one another. But when Mama announces she's pregnant, Papa returns and tries to fit into the new dynamics of the household, taking over the cooking to hilarious effect and setting up a studio in the attic in hopes of overcoming his writer's block. Two loving grandparents, an eccentric friend, and four wise and devoted dogs that can now be heard by Papa, and then by Mama, too, help a now-solid family welcome baby Nicholas—and a new dog—at story's end. The spare prose, in William's authentic voice, conveys pathos and humor; the boy's cautious observations and Papa's earnest explanations are offset by Elinor's droll one-liners and the dogs' succinct comments. Deft characterization adds richness and depth to a deceptively simple narrative, and appealing charcoal pencil illustrations throughout reflect the action. The book's title suggests the wonder of canine speech and becomes the title of the story Papa eventually begins to write. Fans of Joy Cowley's Chicken Feathers (Philomel, 2008) will love this gem.—Marie Orlando, formerly at Suffolk Cooperative Library System, Bellport, NY
Read More