Tuesday, March 13, 2012

Book Review: Dear Hound by Jill Murphy


Published by: Bloomsbury Kids
Released on: September 14th, 2010
Source: book from publisher to review
Ages: 8 & up
4 stars: I Really Enjoyed It
Purchase from: Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Alfie's your average deer hound puppy—curious about the world around him, happy to chase the cat and laze around in his favorite beanbag bed, and very loyal to his boy, Charlie. So he's extremely upset when Charlie goes away and leaves him with a sitter—upset enough that he escapes into the woods. With the help of some friendly foxes, Alfie learns to live in the wild, but he never stops thinking of Charlie and trying to find his way home. And Charlie, of course, never stops thinking of Alfie, either. Will these two be able to find each other before it's too late?

Featuring irresistible black-and-white line drawings on every spread, Dear Hound is both an accessible, heartwarming story and the perfect choice for readers graduating out of early chapter books. -quoted from Goodreads

Dear Hound is a heart warming story about an adorable young Deer Hound named Alfie. This pup finds himself in the middle of one misadventure after the other. After being sent to spend the night with a care taker while his family goes out of town, Alfie frightens himself and runs off. Finding himself lost and alone in the woods during a stormy night, Alfie wants nothing more than to go home, back to his owner Charlie. Luckily for Alfie he befriends two friendly foxes who have compassion on him and end up helping him learn the ways of the woods, and survive until his owner can find him.

Through out this sweet story, Alfie learns to be like a fox, and Charlie never gives up his search for his pup, even if that search takes him months. During the months of Alfie is missing, Alfie and Charlie and have a lot of close encounters of being reunited. Will Alfie make it home and will Charlie ever find Alfie? This is truly one of those fabulous books young readers will enjoy spending time with. It's easy to read, engaging and extremely easy to follow along with. You don't need to be an animal lover to enjoy this cute story. The friendships, determination and devotion of both dog and owner, simple plot twists and the humor found in this story make this an incredibly enjoyable read! I highly recommend picking this one up.
I would be most content if my children grew up to be the kind of people who think decorating consists mostly of building enough bookshelves. ~ Anna Quindlen

Good children's literature appeals not only to
the child in the adult, but to the adult in the child.
~ Anonymous ~