About This Book:
The heartwarming friendship between a girl and the dog next door tenderly evokes the power of stories to bring—and keep—us together.
Two houses stand side by side: one is home to a dog, the other to a young girl. Though a fence divides them, girl and dog build a sweet and sturdy friendship rooted in make-believe . . . and are lonely no more. Paired with moving illustrations and based on a true story, this endearing tale from the author of I, Cosmo testifies to the transformative power of creativity and inter-species friendship.
*Review Contributed by Karen Yingling, Staff Reviewer*
Tale of Enduring Friendship
The dog isn’t shown as being abused, so younger readers will just understand that the dog is lonely, and at least he is not chained up. Clearly, however, he is neglected, which makes this tale even sadder for adult readers. Like Papp’s Madeline Finn and the Shelter Dog, this points out the power of reading out loud, even if it is to a dog. Since my dog is the only one to whom I read out loud, I can say that he enjoyed this story. Or the belly rub that went with it. Hard to tell!
Sorosiak is known to me for her great middle grade books like I, Cosmo and and My Life as a Cat, as well as the upcoming Always, Clementine(September 2022), but she also writes a riveting picture book. Pair this with Jones’ Perdu, Thompson’s A Family for Louie, Guojing’s Stormy, or Cummings’ Can I Be Your Dog for a wooftastic read about dogs connecting with people who love them.
