Pick of the Litter - Hardcover

Wallace, Bill

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0823419215 ISBN 13: 9780823419210

Publisher: Holiday House, 2005

Synopsis

After ending the sixth-grade on a bad note and almost losing the puppy he has come to love, twelve-year-old Tom turns to writing to a friend who helps him get through his difficult period and gives him the guidance he needs to make the right decisions to get through it all.

About this title

About the Author

Bill Wallace is the beloved children's author of such popular titles as "A Dog Called Kitty" and "Coyote Autumn". He is a two-time winner of the Texas Bluebonnet Award and the recipient of a lifetime achievement award from the Oklahoma Center for the Book. He lives in Chickasha, Oklahoma, with his family. Find out more on his website at www.wallacebooks.com.

From School Library Journal

Grade 4-6 -Although this book is about honor, it often veers off that subject into trivia or handles it too heavy-handedly. It is far more interesting when it focuses on how 12-year-old Tom Nash and his grandfather, who is recuperating from heart surgery, train hunting dogs. And its main conflict doesn't arise until halfway through. The story begins with Tom writing lists of spelling words at the end of the school year because he lied about having them ready to turn in earlier. He goes to soccer camp and helps his mother clean his grandfather's kennel and feed the dogs. He and his parents take a trip to Six Flags where they meet a couple whose daughter is around Tom's age. He makes an awkward attempt at conversation with Angie and they become friends. Finally, halfway through the book, Tom and Grandpa begin to teach the older dogs the finer points of hunting and training the puppies. Tom falls in love with a rare blue-eyed beagle pup that seems the best behaved and most attentive. The problem is that Grandpa has promised the owner of the sire the pick of the litter. Tom shares his worry in a letter to Angie but there is never any real mystery as to what he will do. Wallace uses a first-person narrative but feelings are often told rather than shown. Transitions can also be awkward. Dog books are perennially popular but consider this one only if stock is low and demand high. It's not really the pick of the litter.-Tina Zubak, Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, PA
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About this edition

• Publisher: Holiday House
• Publication date: 2005
• ISBN 10: 0823419215
• ISBN 13: 9780823419210
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 32