Written by: Patricia MacLachlan
Published by: HarperCollinsChildren
Expected Publish Date: 9/13/2016
The Poet's Dog is a beautiful story about friendship, love, and survival. Teddy is a dog who knows words, but only poets and children can hear his words. Teddy saves two children, Nickel and Flora, from being lost in a snowstorm. As they work together to scrounge food and create heat to survive, Teddy keeps thinking about his lost person, Sylvan, the poet. Through flashbacks, we learn about the closeness of their relationship.
I thoroughly enjoyed this heartwarming story. Children of all backgrounds will be able to connect with the characters in some way. I like the use of italics for flashbacks which will help younger readers to better understand and enjoy this story. Beyond the story, I see it as perfectly choreographed with the right amount of words per page and white-space which is important for this age group.
Patricia MacLachlan is a Newbery Medal winner for her book Sarah, Plain and Tall. She is also the author of many other novels for young readers along with many picture books.
Thank you for the advanced reader's edition from HarperCollinsPublishers, Patricia MacLachlan and #TxLA16 in exchange for an honest review. It is truly a gem of a book!