The Great Dog Disaster

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