Everything for a Dog

ISBN: 0312674848

Author: Martin, Ann M.

Condition: New

About the AuthorAnn M. Martin is the New York Times-bestselling author of Rain Reign and many other award-winning novels and series, including the much-loved Baby-Sitters Club. She lives in upstate New York.Product DescriptionBone is a stray dog, all alone in the world, looking for a safe place to call home. Charlie is devastated by the death of his older brother, but at least he has his brother's dog to comfort him. All Henry wants is a dog of his own, and even when his best friend moves away, his parents still won't let him have one. Bone, Charlie, and Henry don't know each other, but their lives are about to connect in a very surprising way. Because dogs, and dog lovers, have a way of finding each other . . .ReviewAnimal lovers of all ages will cherish this moving tale of man's--or in this case, boy's--best friend. -Publishers Weekly, starred reviewMartin's book honors the unique companionship and healing powers that have earned dogs the title of man's best friend, and it will resonate with both the reader who is already a dog owner or who, like Henry, pines to be one. -Shelf Awareness[Martin] artfully alternates and gradually weaves together threads from the canine and human tales until the three stories converge in time anad space into a completely heartwarming and satisfying finale. Essential fare for fans of the perfectly crafted canine tale. -Kirkus, starred reviewThis is a sensitive, gentle read that surrounds its occasional heartbreak with plenty of hope and warm feelings. -BooklistThis is a touching and ultimately happy story that will appeal to fans of Phyllis Reynolds Naylor's Shiloh (S & S, 1991) and Fred Gipson's Old Yeller (HarperCollins, 1942), as well as to a wider audience. -School Library JournalIt is clear that Martin is not writing a conventional dog story but a serious and very fine book about life, death, and the need to keep going in order to find joy again, whether one is a human or a dog. -Horn Book ReviewExcerpt. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.Everything for a DogBy Ann M. Martin Square FishCopyright 2011 Ann M. MartinAll right reserved.ISBN: 97803126748471. BONEMy tale begins with a tail. It is my earliest memory, this tail. I was twelve days old and my eyes had opened for the first time. I tried to focus them and I became aware of something moving, something black and white, something so intriguing that I bit it. It was a tail and it belonged to my sister, who yelped. I didnt have any teeth yet so I hadnt hurt her, but I had surprised her, my timid sister, Squirrel. Next I bit my mother, and she swatted me with her great brown paw. Then she drew me to her belly, and I curled into it, Squirrel pressed against my side.Squirrel and I were the only surviving puppies in our litter. My mother, whose dog name was Stream, had given birth to three others, but only my sister and I had lived. Mother had waited until she saw that we were strong and then she had given us our names-Bone and Squirrel, two things of vital importance to her.I am Bone.Mother gave birth to Squirrel and me in a wheelbarrow in a shed on the property belonging to a family named Merrion. We lived there in secret. Mother, who was a stray dog her entire short life, had roamed the countryside around Lindenfield for a long time searching for just the right spot in which to give birth to her puppies. She had started her search at the end of a winter that had been bitterly cold, but short. By the time the early spring arrived, bringing with it mild days and the scent of sunshine, the ice in the ponds was melting and the hibernating creatures were waking from their long sleeps, and Mother had selected the Merrions land as the place on which to settle down for a while.In truth, Mother selected well, but not perfectly. The Merrions, who visited their large house in the country only on the weekends, at least during the cooler weather, did not like animals-not wild animals, and no