Spunky Tells All

Starred review from September 1, 2011

The beloved family of Julian and Huey Bates (The Stories Julian Tells, 1981, etc.) is back after a long hiatus. Spunky, their mixed-breed dog, hilariously reveals all about his humans and realizes his purpose in life.

No matter how hard Spunky concentrates and how earnestly he explains himself, his family is unable to hear him. This leads to one unintended consequence: The family adopts a cat, Fiona, thinking that Spunky needs a friend to play with. Fiona does just what she wishes, while Spunky is true to his nature and just wants to please his family and follow the schedule—except when he is chewing socks and breaking pencils. Through first-canine narrative, readers get right into Spunky's mind, sharing his frustrations at Fiona's lack of reflection and his humans' inability to figure things out. Amusing descriptions of the house—Boy Sleeping Room, White Pond Room (bathroom), Family Lie-Around Room—keep young readers laughing, and lots of action (the best of it in the White Pond Room) keeps the pages turning. Spunky's love of his boy, Huey, will bring a tear to the eyes of dog lovers, too. Castillo's perfect black-and-white spot drawings capture the energy and intelligence of both animals as they begin the careful dance of new friendship.

Readers ready for chapter books will delight in seeing the world through Spunky's eyes and powerful nose. (Fiction. 8-11)

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Starred review from November 1, 2011

Gr 3-5-Cameron has written another top-notch entry in the Julian and Huey series, this time from the brothers' pup's perspective. Who knows all of a family's secrets? The dog, of course. Spunky lets readers in on all the details of the Bateses, right down to the complex smells of each family member. The tragedy is that even though he understands them, they don't always understand him. They misinterpret Spunky's off-the-wall behavior and deduce that they need another pet to help diffuse some of his energy. Enter Fiona, a purebred cat with an attitude. She and Spunky are at odds from the get-go, due to her egocentricity and skewed view of how the world works (for example, she thinks that if she puts Spunky's food in the water puddles on the floor, wolves won't come to the house). Even so, Spunky comes to the rescue when Fiona's life is in danger, which knits the whole family closer together. Spunky joins the ranks of stellar animal narrators, on par with Harold, the dog from James Howe's Bunnicula (Atheneum, 1979). Readers will be simultaneously tickled by his canine observations and moved by the profound connection between dog and family. Huey and Spunky's shared dream is particularly poignant, and may very well move dog lovers to tears. Though the narrative doesn't need embellishment, thickly outlined illustrations pepper the text, giving readers a visual reference for some of Spunky's antics. A gem.-Amy Holland, Irondequoit Public Library, NY

Copyright 2011 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

November 1, 2011
Grades 2-4 The latest illustrated chapter book about Huey and his older brother, Julian, is told by their family dog, Spunky. He cannot speak Human, but he understands it (sometimes). The puns and misunderstandings fun, especially about what he Nose with his strong sense of smell. If only the family would learn to speak Dog. He feels displaced when they get a cat, Fiona, but then he rescues her when she is trapped, and a tender black-and-white illustration shows the animals touching noses. Readers will enjoy this pet story told from the pet's viewpoint.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2011, American Library Association.)