Sable (Redfeather Books) - Hardcover

Hesse, Karen

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0805024166 ISBN 13: 9780805024166

Publisher: Redfeather Book from Henry Holt, 1994

Synopsis

Tate is overjoyed when a scrawny mutt turns up in the yard one day. She even persuades Mam and Pap to let her keep Sable, named for her dark, silky fur. But before long, the incorrigible dog begins to cause trouble with the neighbors. Will Sable have to go?

About this title

About the Author

Karen Hesse is the award-winning author of several outstanding books for young readers, including Letters from Rifka and Phoenix Rising. She lives in Williamsville, Vermont.Marcia Sewall lives in Dorchester, Massachusetts.

Reviews

Grade 3-5-A starving dog is the catalyst that propels Tate, 10, toward adulthood. Plot and characterization effortlessly evolve through her narration, which is as honest and direct as the character herself. Her simple language is filled with images of rural New England. She describes her struggle to keep the stray, which begins as soon as the exhausted animal appears on her porch. Even though her mother is terrified of dogs, Tate quickly wraps her life around her new-found pet, whose ears are as soft as sable. However, the canine's wandering ways and stealing bring complaints from neighbors. Mam demands that Sable leave, and Pap finds her a good home with Doc Winston, whose land is surrounded by a high stone fence. Desolate but determined to win Sable back, Tate designs, buys the materials for, and builds her own fence. Weeks later, she visits Doc Winston and learns that the animal has disappeared. With the loss of Sable, Tate's focus shifts to helping her family; in turn, her father accepts her as an apprentice in his woodworking shop. An exceptional dog story-with a happy ending- whose length and pencil illustrations, one per chapter, make it attractive to young readers.
Maggie McEwen, Coffin Elementary School, Brunswick, ME
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Hesse ( Letters from Rifka ) turns out an exemplary chapter book with this superbly structured work about a girl and her dog. Tate's greatest wish is to keep the mutt that has strayed into her family's yard: "Mam and Pap hadn't said I could keep her," confides Tate, the narrator. "But they hadn't said I couldn't, either." The plot is familiar--Mam doesn't like dogs, Pap is sympathetic but stern, and when neighbors start complaining about the dog, Mam and Pap find it a new home, far away. Hesse, however, makes the story seem fresh. A few deft references evoke the setting, rural New England in the indeterminate past, and skillful use of easy-to-read language supplies the color (Mam, for example, doesn't simply bake bread; instead, "The muscles worked in her long back as her fist kneaded dough"). Tate herself is appealingly resourceful and determined, and the obstacles in her path are neither entirely predictable nor too neatly hurdled. Each chapter swings the reader through a spectrum of emotions and a comfortable surge of expectation. Ages 7-9.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Another nicely honed Redfeather Book from the author of Lavender (1993) and Phoenix Rising (p. 480). Again, the theme is caring for loved ones; but where the adults in Lavender were exemplary, the parents here hardly seem to love their daughter in the beginning, much less the stray dog she adopts. Gruff Pap, a carpenter, is too busy to let Tate help him or to understand her need for companionship. Mam has a deep fear of dogs and still has scars to show why; she's testy and anxious when Pap lets Tate feed ``Sable'' and keep her outside. But Tate loves the dog, and Sable reciprocates her affection. Unfortunately, once she's well fed, she takes to wandering--follows the school bus, brings things home, bothers neighbors. When there are complaints, Pap gives Sable to a customer, miles away. Desolate but determined, Tate builds a fence in hopes of bringing Sable home, then hitches a ride to see her; but the dog has run away. By the time she makes her way home, each character has gained some insights: With more help from Tate, and realizing how much she has grieved, Mam mellows; Pap sees the fence as evidence that Tate might make a carpenter; even Sable has had enough of running and settles down. With a fresh narrative voice, thoughtfully developed characters, and its surefire Lassie-Come-Home ending, a fine early chapter book. (Fiction. 6-10) -- Copyright ©1994, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Gr. 2-4. Sable is the perfect dog for Tate, loving and full of energy. She has only one flaw--she wanders and, in her wandering, steals things: chocolate cake, a rubber boot, a front-door mat. Even after the dog is given to a doctor who lives half a day's ride away, Tate is determined to earn her return. Single-handedly, she builds Sable a fence to thwart her wandering, only to learn the feisty dog has run away from her new home. Yet Sable is as fixated on reunion as her owner. Weeks later, she finds her way home to a joyful family welcome, finally happy to "stay." A rewarding early reader. Frances Bradburn

Edition details

• Publisher: Redfeather Book from Henry Holt
• Publication date: 1994
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0805024166
• ISBN 13: 9780805024166
• Binding: Hardcover
• Illustrator: Sewall Marcia
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 96