The Great Dog Disaster

April 1, 2013
Intrepid 9-year-olds Anna and Suzanne tackle their latest pet challenge with customary ingenuity, elaborate plans and lists, and allies old (Mr. Tucker and Mrs. Rotherham) and young (Anna's cookie-loving brother, Tom). Having lobbied her parents for a new dog ever since they sent Barney to a farm where "he's much better off," Suzanne's thrilled to inherit Aunt Deidra's Beatrice, an ancient, smelly, incontinent Newfoundland who remains stubbornly inert until Anna crawls under Beatrice and heaves upward while Suzanne tugs her leash to get her moving. Anna's reluctance to lie under Beatrice each day, inhaling her rich aroma, is forgiven when she makes a discovery: Beatrice is depressed! To boost her spirits, the girls bathe her in Suzanne's baby brother's bath (his diapers come in handy). Anna contributes her dad's electric toothbrush and her mom's perfume. Elderly neighbors pitch in (Mrs. Rotherham's underpants play a role). Then a huge vet bill with the promise of more to come has Suzanne's parents murmuring that Beatrice would be better off elsewhere. Not if the ever-resourceful duo can help it! Davies doesn't sugarcoat harsh realities; family financial constraints, mendacious parents and intimations of mortality--animal and human--lurk amid the hilarity, lending understated pathos to the proceedings. Shaw's quirky art continues to charm (Miss Matheson's snappy dog is a treat). Characteristically funny, this concludes a British series that has been a breath of fresh middle-grade air. (Fiction. 8-12)

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July 1, 2013

Gr 3-5-Nine-year-old Anna and Suzanne are best friends. When Suzanne's Great-Aunt Deidra leaves Suzanne's mother a dog in her will, both girls are excited. When the Newfoundland arrives, she is old, smelly, and depressed. Suzanne and Anna try everything to make Beatrice more appealing, putting her in diapers, brushing her teeth, and bathing and perfuming her, but nothing works. Bad goes to worse when she accidentally catches Misty, a small, yappy dog, in her mouth. Misty's owner, a cantankerous old lady, threatens to have the animal put down. When Suzanne's parents agree, the girls and Anna's five-year-old brother decide to hide Beatrice from everyone. Humorous instances occur throughout the story, yet not enough to carry the insubstantial plot or to appeal to a wide range of readers. Davies uses side boxes to define more-difficult words such as "disaster" and "guillotine," yet she continually uses the grammatical disaster "me and Suzanne," to the point of nails-on-a-chalkboard annoyance. Beatrice redeems herself at the close of the story, and cartoonlike black-ink illustrations offer interest, but not enough to save this unimaginative plot.-D. Maria LaRocco, Cuyahoga Public Library, Strongsville, OH

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