In this tender but slim story, Annie saves a starving stray dog's life. She is riding home from school when she notices the dog, whom she starts to call Spooky, picking through garbage. Every day thereafter, Annie seeks out the emaciated dog, hoping to feed him and help him get well, but the dog runs away. One day, when Annie finds Spooky by the side of the road, she realizes that the dog needs professional care, and her family pitches in to help her help the hound. The doctor's news is that the stray should be put to sleep, but with Annie's hope and love, Spooky miraculously recovers and becomes her new pet. This story is based on a real incident, but it isn't very interesting. Although Annie wears a modern bike helmet and her brother uses the ubiquitous ``Whatever,'' as a response, both text and art have an old-fashioned feeling; this heartwarming tale is given a flat- footed treatment. (Picture book. 3-6)

K-Gr 3ÄRiding her bike home from school, Annie notices a starving dog in a garbage dump and names him Spooky. Over the weeks, she wins the animal's trust, visiting him daily and keeping him alive on scraps from her own meals. She keeps him a secret until the day his condition deteriorates drastically. Once informed, Annie's parents rush the dog to a vet; although the doctor recommends putting it to sleep, the dog makes a slow recovery and eventually goes home with Annie. Based on an actual event, Spooky may strike some readers as more personal and immediate than the Rands' books about Salty the Sailor Dog (Holt), a whimsical pooch who travels the seas with an adult master. Compared to Salty's tales, Spooky's story is delivered more directly than artfully, but the involvement of a child in the pup's rescue brings this story closer to home for young readers. Ted Rand's realistic illustrations in grease pencil and acrylics reinforce this identification. An author's note offers photos and facts about the real-life incident but no reference to the dangers inherent in a child's handling of a feral animal.ÄLiza Bliss, Worcester Public Library, MA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

With the help of her family and a vet, Annie saves the life of a starving dog she finds in the woods near the town dump. Despite the happy ending, the story doesn't gloss over the difficulties involved in helping an animal in distress. Acrylic artwork ably depicts the emaciated dog and its concerned rescuer. A note explains that the story is based on the rescue of a real dog. From HORN BOOK Fall 1998, (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Ages 5-9. Biking home from school, Annie spies a stray dog. Knowing that her parents won't permit any more pets at home, Annie meets the dog she names Spooky on its own turf every day. In time, Annie coaxes Spooky to eat from her hand. But the bits she saves from her lunches are not the food Spooky needs. Finally the starving dog grows so weak that Annie must tell her parents about it. The proper care comes almost too late, but in time Spooky grows strong enough to leave the veterinary hospital and go home with Annie. The richly colored artwork, in acrylics with grease pencil, memorably conveys the emotional scenes, which are made even more poignant by the concluding photos of the real-life rescue of the scared and starving dog on which this book is based. Worthwhile lessons about the risks in keeping secrets from parents and the need to act humanely toward animals are bound together in this compelling book. (Reviewed April 1, 1998)0805046119Ellen Mandel