A puppy is born and enjoys being with his mamma and brothers and sisters. But then Mamma is gone. There is no schnuffle (smell) of her
anywhere on the air. His brothers and sisters cry as loud as he does for their mother but they are alone, and cold, in a cage with a concrete floor.
Some of his brothers and sisters aren’t strong or warm enough to make it, and a fat rat tells the puppy what happens next. The shoe-leg comes back, angry at each pup who doesn’t survive, but it’s not long before they are big enough for homes.
This puppy can show off for the shoe-legs. He yips and spins showing them he is the one they should take home, but before long he is the only one left, sitting on his concrete floor alone.
The angry shoe-leg (GrowlManJim) has a Manpup who feeds him. Who notices him. Who is kind to him. This Manpup wants to keep him, giving him his name – Scruffity. Scruffity has finally found the true way of dog. It’s not only playing in fresh grass, rolling in smelly things, spinning, spinning, spinning and leaping for the Skysingers. The way of dog is being, playing, loving and licking his Manpup!
GrowlManJim doesn’t like Scruffity and his Manpup together and has a plan to separate them. But Scruffity is happy Manpup has a plan too. They are suddenly free – together. Until Manpup is taken away in a loud, siren, FlashingMetalBeast. Now Manpup is gone.
Scruffity begins his search for his boy, meeting and helping others along the way, as they also help him. A homeless person, a fox and angry city dogs are part of his adventure, then two little girls who he must leap into protecting when another shoeleg like GrowlManJim arrives. Manpup always talked of following the river to a beach where a loved one lives, so the river is Scruffity’s guide. But there is more in store for this little, raggedy, big-hearted dog.
His journey has proven to other humans that he is very smart. Just when he thought he could never love another, Scruffity meets Charlie. It’s Charlie who helps Scruffity finally find his true home.
Wow! What an absolutely gorgeous, heartbreaking, beautiful, wonderful story. Told in verse in the viewpoint of pup Scruffity, the reader sees the world through a dog’s eyes. There is the wonder of the Skysingers (birds), the fear of the shoelegs (people), the love for his Manpup (boy) and the confusion of the FlashingMetalBeast.
Luckily there are other kind shoelegs like Scruffity’s Manpup, so he can finally find the one he will truly love forever. The verse was so lyrical to read, with rhyme, alliteration and poetry effortlessly flowing within each stanza, capturing the true heart of this young dog.
Something special for all animal lovers.
Author – Zana Fraillon
Age – 10+
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(2022, Penguin Random, Animal, Dog, Fox, Rat, Cat, Puppy Farm, Animal Shelter, Dog Pound, Ill treatment, Kindness, Love, Journey, Freedom, Homeless Person, Music, Hospital, Care, Prison, Retraining, Grief, Loneliness)