Everything for a Dog

by

Ann M. Martin

Fiction

Subjects you'll come across in this book:

In three parallel, interconnected stories, Bone, an orphaned dog, finds and loses a series of homes, while Charlie deals with his brother's death through the comfort of his dog, and Henry pleads with his parents for a dog of his own.

"The story is told from the alternating perspectives of Bone and two boys who enter his life.  Each point of view is compelling on its own, but the smooth convergence of the characters' heartwrenching histories shows exceptional engineering and artistry.  Animal lovers of all ages will cherish this moving tale of man's—or in this case, boy's

—best friend."^[1]  (Publisher's Weekly, 2009)

"Mostly this is a sensitive, gentle read that surrounds its occasional heartbreak with plenty of hope and warm feelings."  (Booklist, 2009)

 

Of note: 

• 211 pages, published 2009
• Bone also appears in A Dog's Life: The Autobiography of a Stray (2005), but each book stands alone. 
• You can understand Everything for a Dog even if you haven't read A Dog's Life, which is mostly about Bone's sister, Squirrel.
• Chapter headings make it clear which character's perspective the chapter is told from.
• There are text-to-text connections with other Black-Eyed Susan books:
• multiple perspectives are also used in A Long Walk to Water (Park)
• an animal is a main character of Dream of Night (Henson)
• Look for non-fiction books about dogs and puppies in the section 636.7.

Author:  Ann M. Martin   (Check out the photo albums too!)

Want more books by Ann M. Martin? You're in luck.  She's written tons of books!

Try:

• A Corner of the Universe
• The Doll People trilogy (The Doll People, The Meanest Doll in the World, The Runaway Dolls)
• A Dog's Life: The Autobiography of a Stray
• Belle Teal
• Here Today
• The Baby-Sitters Club series and the Main Street series

If you like Everything for a Dog, you might also like

	the Shiloh trilogy by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
	Because of Winn-Dixie by Kate DiCamillo

[2]

Ann Martin talks about how she writes and about the inspiration for Everything for a Dog.

^[3]