I grabbed this book to read to my 6 year old before bed. It is a Scholastic book that he got at the last book fair. He was bored after the first page, but I was hooked and had to finish it.
I thought it would be about kids who want a dog and they try to steal one, but learn a valuable lesson about responsibility and honesty. Oh no - nothing like that. It was about a couple of kids who were living in their car with their mom. They thought if they stole a dog, they could return it for some reward money and that might be enough money to put down as a deposit on an apartment.
Well, as it turns out, the person that they stole the dog from wasn't well off enough to offer reward money. She was also heartsick from losing such a dear companion. The kids make friends with her and now they have to decide what to do. (they give the dog back with a tearful explanation)
The homelessness was told with realism and clarity. The embarrassment at having dirty hair and clothes, combined with slipping schoolwork (you can't easily do your homework in the car) was carefully described and not watered down for kids.
I was surprised and pleased to see this offered for children. I am urging my 9 year old son to read this so we can talk about it more from his perspective.
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