Unknown

Ignored by prospective human owners who walk past her cage at the pound, a shy dog with an unusual name becomes a hero during a lightning storm.

PreSchool-Grade 3-A charming story about a little dog in an animal shelter that courageously rescues the other dogs from a fire. Each of the canines has been named for the circumstances that brought it there: "Unwanted-Christmas-Gift," "Owner-Died," "Stray," and "Unknown." The homeless pups watch as families come to choose a pet and pass by their cages, leaving them sad and tired. One night, trees outside the shelter are struck by lightning and catch fire. Shy, little Unknown digs a hole and escapes to alert the caretaker and the animals are saved. As her story hits the news, the shelter is flooded with offers to adopt her. The celebrated pooch poignantly tells her friend, "I got lucky. But it would be good-if we could put all the humans in cages and walk along with our noses in the air and choose the ones WE wanted." The watercolor-and-ink paintings carry the plot from the dark, gray shelter to the bright, orange flames of fire. The animals' faces and poses express their eagerness as well as their disappointment and fear. This is a sure bet for any prospective young dog owner to stimulate discussion about owning a pet for life.
Holly Belli, Bergen County Cooperative Library System, West Caldwell, NJ
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Gr. 2^-3, younger for reading aloud. Left on a shelter's doorstep, the dog labeled only "Unknown" is a small mop so retiring that prospective owners often walk past his cage, thinking it empty. The aggressive, spiked-collar "Grown-Too-Large" lives one pen over. When fire threatens the shelter one night, though, it's Grown-Too-Large who cowers, and Unknown who finds a way to warn the keeper. Australian Pignataro makes her U.S. debut portraying canines in narrow cages; a storm-tossed rescue; and, finally, scenes of domestic bliss as not only Unknown but also Grown-Too-Large (now known as Grown-Too-Soft) at last find loving families. The text curves and changes size on some spreads to evoke the caged animals' emotional climate. This joins Tres Seymour's Pole Dog (1993) and most abandoned-animal picture-book stories in having a happy ending, but Unknown's parting comment puts an edge on the sweetness: "I got lucky. But it would be good if we could put all the humans in cages and walk along with our noses in the air and choose the ones WE wanted." John Peters
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