  | Full Text Reviews: Booklist - 01/01/2016 A cocky Jack Russell terrier struggles to make sense of changes in his world when he moves with Fetch Man, Food Lady, and his favorite short human, Hattie, from a city apartment to a suburban house. Added to the usual challenges of protecting his family from squirrels and passing trucks, there are all sorts of exciting new sights and smells to investigate—not to mention a pair of new doggy neighbors (“’Sup, ladies?”). But Hattie’s meeting new friends and suddenly leaving him out of all her games and activities. Fenway may not understand Hattie’s behavior, but readers looking through his uncomprehending eyes will follow her ups and downs easily as she adjusts to the move. They’ll also wince in sympathy as she tries, with mixed success, to train, or even restrain, her barky, hyper, emotional pet. Eventually, once Fenway gets the connection between obeying commands like “sit” and “stay” and getting treats, the way is (mostly) clear. “Making Hattie happy is a big job,” he concludes. “But luckily, I’m a professional.” - Copyright 2016 Booklist. School Library Journal - 01/01/2016 Gr 4–6—Fenway narrates the story of his move with Hattie, Food Lady, and Fetch Man from an apartment near a community dog park to a house with its own dog park. Fenway is a Jack Russell terrier who is so fiercely protective of his girl, Hattie, that he jumps, lunges, and barks furiously and incessantly in the presence of delivery men, squirrels, and even the muffins the new neighbor brings over. The hard, glistening floor in the Eating Place "terrorizes" him, and he whines with a "pathetic face" until Hattie brings him food to the carpeted hallway. Fenway is sad when Hattie abandons him to play with her new neighbor and when he's put in a room behind a Gate after he breaks his leash to protect Hattie from the Truck Man with ice cream. Eventually, his people take him to a place where he learns to stay, lie down, and leave a toy. Readers will relate to Fenway's impulsivity and delight in descriptions from his dog's-eye view. Teachers and adults will appreciate generous sprinklings of rich vocabulary. Fenway's first-doggie perspective is not as complex as McKinley's in Avi's The Good Dog (Atheneum, 2001) or Squirrel's in Ann M. Martin's A Dogs Life: Autobiography of a Stray (Scholastic, 2005), and the tight in-home focus of this story wears a little thin. But dog lovers will enjoy spending some time with Fenway as he adjusts to his new home in the suburbs. VERDICT A solid addition to larger collections.—Laura Scott, Farmington Community Library, MI - Copyright 2016 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission. Loading...
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