The Friskative Dog

January 22, 2007
In this unusually told story, nine-year-old Sharron lives with her mother, Karen, and clings to her stuffed dog as though he were real, in the wake of her father's disappearance a year ago. About halfway through the novel, which unfolds mostly from Sharron's limited perspective, the girl overhears her grandmother telling her mother that her father has begun a new life with another woman. Karen seems to accept the situation better than Sharron, who likens her father to a wandering coyote and, even more oddly, ruminates on the relationship between dog tags and human identity changes. The true drama takes place in Sharron's school, where two spoiled girls begin bullying Sharron and stealing her dog. The often jarring narrative slips in tense, time and point of view. Although the tale centers on an elementary student, the book's complex structure and some haiku-like metaphors may well challenge even adult readers' imaginations: "The fog hung over the pool, making diamonds on the black iron railings, swirling around the carports." Things work out well enough in the end; Sharron and her mother carry on with their lives. However, it's difficult to pinpoint who might be the appropriate audience for Straight's (I Been in Sorrow's Kitchen and Licked Out All the Pots
) curious novel. Ages 8-12.

April 1, 2007
Gr 3-5-Now that Sharron's dad has been missing for a year, the toy dog that he gave her when she was five has taken on great meaning. Her mother and grandmother slowly realize that he has run off, but nothing is made clear to his confused daughter. The stuffed animal has become the center of her love and devotion, so much so that she has crossed the line between reality and imagination, and believes that The Friskative Dog is real. When her fourth-grade class is assigned career reports, she knows that she wants to work with dogs. Her schoolmates are aware of her attachment to the toy and subject her to snide remarks. When tension and loneliness escalate, Sharron takes him to school, precipitating a crisis. Straight's ear for classroom dialogue is similar to Andrew Clements's. Both a school and a family story rich with the setting of southern California, this book has potential for both discussion and reading aloud."Kathryn Kosiorek, Cuyahoga County Public Library, Brooklyn, OH"

Copyright 2007 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

March 1, 2007
Sharron and her beloved dad, who drives a truck, are close, but one day he leaves their home in Rio Seco, California (also the setting of Straight's adult novels), and doesn't return. A year later, Sharron and her mother still have their lives on hold--not knowing but not giving up. Friskative Dog, a stuffed toy puppy that has been Sharron's constant companion since she was five, is the one thing Sharron has been able to count on. A few classmates ridicule her for acting as if the dog were alive, but when Friskative Dog disappears, everyone (including readers) comes to understand the role the toy plays. Viewing love and loss through Sharron's eyes, Straight thoughtfully captures the nine-year-old's ability to perceive her parent's emotional struggles while dealing with feelings and questions of her own. What happened to Sharron's father remains unknown, but readers will find hope in the child's ability to finally move forward with life.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2007, American Library Association.)