In Keeping Barney (1982), Sarah, 13, cared for the bright, feisty horse while his owner, Missie, was at college. Now, next summer, Sarah's taking riding lessons from Missie and helping another friend condition his horse for an endurance ride; and Mom has agreed to buy her a horse, but not until she finishes her summer tutoring job and has time to look for one. When Missie offers to drive Sarah on a preliminary search (which Sarah keeps secret, lest Mom forbid it), they find Roy, all energy and intelligence and almost too much to handle; and Thunder, lively and sweet, no longer young, but truly like the ideal Barney. When Mom finds out, she's taken aback—she hasn't told Sarah that the delay was to earn money for the horse, or that she counted on helping Sarah find a better one than she had as a girl. Suiting consequence to infraction, she leaves Sarah to choose without her advice. Skillfully, Haas limns a large cast of horses and people while focusing on Sarah's quest—her thinking through what she really wants, coming to terms with fear of a demanding mount, understanding how privileged she is compared to friend Jill (who'd also love to ride, but is trapped babysitting younger sibs), and taking responsibility for the tough choice between Roy's potential and lovable Thunder, bound for the knackers if no one buys him. Haas lets Sarah balance heart, mind, and her own good sense in admirable fashion before engineering a wholly satisfying (if not unexpected) conclusion. (Fiction. 9-13)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 1993
ISBN: 0-688-12415-1
Page Count: 170
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 1993
A 10-year old girl learns to adjust to a strange town, makes some fascinating friends, and fills the empty space in her heart thanks to a big old stray dog in this lyrical, moving, and enchanting book by a fresh new voice. India Opal’s mama left when she was only three, and her father, “the preacher,” is absorbed in his own loss and in the work of his new ministry at the Open-Arms Baptist Church of Naomi [Florida]. Enter Winn-Dixie, a dog who “looked like a big piece of old brown carpet that had been left out in the rain.” But, this dog had a grin “so big that it made him sneeze.” And, as Opal says, “It’s hard not to immediately fall in love with a dog who has a good sense of humor.” Because of Winn-Dixie, Opal meets Miss Franny Block, an elderly lady whose papa built her a library of her own when she was just a little girl and she’s been the librarian ever since. Then, there’s nearly blind Gloria Dump, who hangs the empty bottle wreckage of her past from the mistake tree in her back yard. And, Otis, oh yes, Otis, whose music charms the gerbils, rabbits, snakes and lizards he’s let out of their cages in the pet store. Brush strokes of magical realism elevate this beyond a simple story of friendship to a well-crafted tale of community and fellowship, of sweetness, sorrow and hope. And, it’s funny, too. A real gem. (Fiction. 9-12)
Pub Date: March 1, 2000
ISBN: 0-7636-0776-2
Page Count: 182
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2000
SEEN & HEARD
Entrancing and uplifting.
A small dog, the elderly woman who owns him, and a homeless girl come together to create a tale of serendipity.
Piper, almost 12, her parents, and her younger brother are at the bottom of a long slide toward homelessness. Finally in a family shelter, Piper finds that her newfound safety gives her the opportunity to reach out to someone who needs help even more. Jewel, mentally ill, lives in the park with her dog, Baby. Unwilling to leave her pet, and forbidden to enter the shelter with him, she struggles with the winter weather. Ree, also homeless and with a large dog, helps when she can, but after Jewel gets sick and is hospitalized, Baby’s taken to the animal shelter, and Ree can’t manage the complex issues alone. It’s Piper, using her best investigative skills, who figures out Jewel’s backstory. Still, she needs all the help of the shelter Firefly Girls troop that she joins to achieve her accomplishment: to raise enough money to provide Jewel and Baby with a secure, hopeful future and, maybe, with their kindness, to inspire a happier story for Ree. Told in the authentic alternating voices of loving child and loyal dog, this tale could easily slump into a syrupy melodrama, but Pyron lets her well-drawn characters earn their believable happy ending, step by challenging step, by reaching out and working together. Piper, her family, and Jewel present white; Pyron uses hair and naming convention, respectively, to cue Ree as black and Piper’s friend Gabriela as Latinx.
Entrancing and uplifting. (Fiction. 9-12)Pub Date: Aug. 13, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-06-283922-0
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Katherine Tegen/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: April 9, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2019
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