More frustrating than heartwarming.
Cameron’s latest puppy tale stars a service dog–in-training.
Cooper, a Malamute/Great Dane puppy, enjoys life with his litter and canine best friend, Lacey. But one day, the pups are separated, adopted by different families. Burke, who uses a wheelchair, wants to train Cooper as a service dog before starting sixth grade; previously home-schooled, Burke believes that Cooper will help him fit in at middle school. Homesick, Cooper is soon further bewildered by strange games to teach him commands such as leave it and assist. Expository dialogue and Cooper’s quintessentially canine narration illustrate aspects of service-dog training as Cooper gradually becomes accustomed to his tasks and devoted to his boy—but not everyone loves Cooper. The author muddles a potentially educational plot by conflating service dogs—which are trained to perform specific tasks and granted full public-access rights by the Americans With Disabilities Act—and emotional support animals, which are not. Such confusion risks perpetuating misconceptions about service animals. Burke’s relationship with his older brother is heartening, but their affectionately humorous banter can’t override unclear information or an implausible plot. The premise that a young person with a disability should have to depend on the charisma of a dog to be accepted by peers is troublingly not addressed. Most characters default to White.
More frustrating than heartwarming. (reading and activity guide) (Fiction. 8-12)Pub Date: June 1, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-250-16338-7
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Starscape/Tom Doherty
Review Posted Online: March 24, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2021
The three way chats, in which they are joined by other animals, about web spinning, themselves, other humans—are as often...
A successful juvenile by the beloved New Yorker writer portrays a farm episode with an imaginative twist that makes a poignant, humorous story of a pig, a spider and a little girl.
Young Fern Arable pleads for the life of runt piglet Wilbur and gets her father to sell him to a neighbor, Mr. Zuckerman. Daily, Fern visits the Zuckermans to sit and muse with Wilbur and with the clever pen spider Charlotte, who befriends him when he is lonely and downcast. At the news of Wilbur's forthcoming slaughter, campaigning Charlotte, to the astonishment of people for miles around, spins words in her web. "Some Pig" comes first. Then "Terrific"—then "Radiant". The last word, when Wilbur is about to win a show prize and Charlotte is about to die from building her egg sac, is "Humble". And as the wonderful Charlotte does die, the sadness is tempered by the promise of more spiders next spring.
The three way chats, in which they are joined by other animals, about web spinning, themselves, other humans—are as often informative as amusing, and the whole tenor of appealing wit and pathos will make fine entertainment for reading aloud, too.Pub Date: Oct. 15, 1952
ISBN: 978-0-06-026385-0
Page Count: 192
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Sept. 14, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 1952
PERSPECTIVES
SEEN & HEARD
Hugely entertaining, timely, and triumphant.
Robot Roz undertakes an unusual ocean journey to save her adopted island home in this third series entry.
When a poison tide flowing across the ocean threatens their island, Roz works with the resident creatures to ensure that they will have clean water, but the destruction of vegetation and crowding of habitats jeopardize everyone’s survival. Brown’s tale of environmental depredation and turmoil is by turns poignant, graceful, endearing, and inspiring, with his (mostly) gentle robot protagonist at its heart. Though Roz is different from the creatures she lives with or encounters—including her son, Brightbill the goose, and his new mate, Glimmerwing—she makes connections through her versatile communication abilities and her desire to understand and help others. When Roz accidentally discovers that the replacement body given to her by Dr. Molovo is waterproof, she sets out to seek help and discovers the human-engineered source of the toxic tide. Brown’s rich descriptions of undersea landscapes, entertaining conversations between Roz and wild creatures, and concise yet powerful explanations of the effect of the poison tide on the ecology of the island are superb. Simple, spare illustrations offer just enough glimpses of Roz and her surroundings to spark the imagination. The climactic confrontation pits oceangoing mammals, seabirds, fish, and even zooplankton against hardware and technology in a nicely choreographed battle. But it is Roz’s heroism and peacemaking that save the day.
Hugely entertaining, timely, and triumphant. (author’s note) (Fiction. 8-12)Pub Date: Sept. 26, 2023
ISBN: 9780316669412
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Aug. 26, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2023
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