Strudel's Forever Home - Hardcover

Freeman, Martha

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0823435342 ISBN 13: 9780823435340

Publisher: Holiday House, 2016

Synopsis

Strudel, a homeless dachshund, loves listening to Jake read from Chief, Dog of the Old West at the animal shelter. When Jake decides to adopt him, Strudel vows to be as brave and loyal as Chief. Only trying to fend off danger in his new home leads to trouble when Strudel makes mistakes such as shredding a "rattlesnake" that is actually a garden hose. But despite Strudel’s humorous miscalculations, his instincts are mostly correct. He knows who is really a member of his pack, and that Mom’s boyfriend Arne can’t be trusted. In a surprising climax Strudel finds his former master, exposes Arne and is reunited with an old friend. Middle-grade readers can get a dog’s eye view as an irrepressible dachshund narrates this touching story of a dog who needed a family, and a struggling family who needed a dog.

About this title

About the Author

Martha Freeman has written fiction for children of all ages. The Horn Book praised her rich details and well-drawn characters in her most recent novel The Orphan and the Mouse, declaring it "a satisfying package of happy homecomings, evil exposed, and the virtues of loyalty, bravery, and literacy rewarded." She lives in Philadelphia.  

From School Library Journal

Gr 3–5—Everyone has troubles—both humans and animals. Arne is too bossy and reeks of cigarettes, a mom deals with management worries, a boy gets pushed into doing bad deeds by a neighborhood bully, cats lose their homes and become feral, and a dog gets spooked by thunder and runs away. These myriad issues overlap and somehow become problems for one little dachshund to solve in Freeman's latest novel for younger middle grade readers. Jake, a struggling reader, practices reading aloud at an animal shelter. There he meets Strudel, who likes the book Chief, Dog of the Old West as much as Jake. Though the work is about rustlers and stampedes and Jake's milieu is completely urban, Strudel imagines himself as Jake's canine sidekick. Jake eventually adopts the little dog, and the two become a team. Jake needs all the help he can get when a neighborhood bully talks him into committing petty crimes for cash. Strudel has his own troubles when a band of feral cats demand that he give up his food. Some problems get solved, while others are left hanging—perhaps due to the fact that the tale is told from the dog's point of view. Strudel is an admirable canine pal who tries to help Jake make the right decisions. Jake, on the other hand, doesn't always own up to his bad deeds. It's unusual to find a children's book in which the good guy turns out to be the dog while the human is left wanting. VERDICT Give this to kids who like stories told from the animal's perspective.—Lillian Hecker, Town of Pelham Public Library, NY

About this edition

• Publisher: Holiday House
• Publication date: 2016
• ISBN 10: 0823435342
• ISBN 13: 9780823435340
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 192