One Dog and His Boy

Ibbotson, Eva     One Dog and His Boy      

Scholastic/Grolier/Childrens Press/Watts 2012   282p  $16.99      978-0-545-35196-6     elm/ms     VG       Animal stories   

Ibbotson’s latest book keeps up her winning streak.  Hal, the son of ultra-rich parents, wants nothing more than a dog of his own.  His parents are too self-absorbed in their own worlds to pay any real attention to Hal, and they give him material things rather than their love and interest.  When his father discovers that he has forgotten Hal’s birthday once again, he finally relents and tells Hal that he can have a dog.  In actuality, Fleck, the "Tottenham terrier" Hal picks out, is only a weekend rental dog.  When Hal discovers this duplicity, he and Fleck run off to his paternal grandparents.  He is aided in his adventures by Pippa, the younger sister of the young woman who works at Easy Pets.  Pippa is so incensed by the poor treatment of the dogs that she frees another four dogs and they all join Hal in his trek north.  Filled with swashbuckling adventures and lots of plot action, the children and dogs move from city to circus to orphanage to a sheep farm, facing attempted abductions by nefarious characters, until they finally reach sanctuary and all find a place of peace and joy.  Loyalty and devotion do gain their just rewards.           

VG    Susan Ogintz      Dog stories