"Ghost Dog Secrets," by Peg Kehret is a very good book about a boy named Rusty who tries to save this dog whose owners do not take care of him, but leave him chained to a tree in the rain with no food or water. It's an adventure kind of mystery thing. Rusty has to save the dog by taking him to his secret fort with his friend, Andrew. But every time he goes to see the dog before he can take him to the secret fort, something that he cannot see touches him.
I think this book is appropriate reading for readers 8 and older because Rusty has to steal the dog and he has to keep it a secret from his mom and everyone else he knows. Younger kids might not understand the stealing or name calling. There is also Gerald who is a very mean boy.
Very impressed with V and E summer reading program. They really are learning to read, AND WRITE, at an early age. Wonder why? Keep posting, and I will keep reading.
ReplyDeleteMy 11 year old really enjoyed this book. However, I was concerned when he started asking questions about meth labs (which we could answer because my husband is a police officer and has a Master's degree in Criminal Justice). On pages 163-167 the boy finds meth lab trash on a neighbor's porch and it goes into detail the supplies he finds. I'm okay with the finding of the meth lab because it is so prominent in today's society but the detail could have been left out. This is a book for children. My 1st grader had actually started reading the book as well. I've researched online to see if anyone left reviews about this. I've not found any. I am leaving a post here in hopes that it will be a review a parent finds before allowing their child to read the book so that they are aware the questions may be asked. The material on these pages should not have been presented in a children's book about a dog.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Anonymous! Since I'm not reading WITH the girls now (we read aloud together regularly, but we don't read every word of every book together), that point alluded me. When I asked V about it, she had NO IDEA what a meth lab was, nor did she ask or want to know. That wasn't apparently integral to her enjoyment of the story otherwise.
ReplyDeleteHonestly, I didn't like the book - I don't like stories in which name calling and bad behavior is so rampant. I don't find it fun in real life, so it sure isn't entertaining to me, either!