Dog 4491

by Sneed B. Collard

Overview

Thanks to the combined forces of a comet and a lightning storm, a dog named Sophie travels in time from 1926 to the present, where she is taken home by Sam, an 11 year-old boy living in a run-down section of the city of Enterprise. Through a bit of sleuthing, Sam and his outspoken grandfather Horace discover the old neighborhood Sophie has apparently come from. With Sophie's help, Sam travels back to 1926 to meet Sophie's owner, another 11 year-old named Rollie. The two boys discover they have a lot in common—including the notorious Cheesebro gang that has terrorized Enterprise in both of their time periods! Together, the new friends hatch a plan to put a stop to the corruption, crime, and urban blight that has afflicted their city—and pave the way for a brighter, revitalized future.

Product Details

BN ID:	2940033079179
Publisher:	Sneed B. Collard III
Publication date:	02/26/2012
Sold by:	Smashwords
Format:	eBook
File size:	305 KB
Age Range:	5 - 11 Years

About the Author

Sneed B. Collard III is the author of more than sixty books for young readers including the acclaimed novels Dog Sense, Double Eagle, and the new Slate Stephens Mysteries titles The Governor's Dog is Missing and Hangman's Gold. In addition to his fiction, Sneed has written dozens of outstanding nonfiction children's books including Animal Dads, One Night in the Coral Sea, Shep—Our Most Loyal Dog, and The World Famous Miles City Bucking Horse Sale, also available from Bucking Horse Books. In 2006, Sneed was awarded the prestigious Washington Post-Children's Book Guild Nonfiction Award for his body of work.
When he is not writing, Sneed can often be found speaking to students, teachers, and librarians across the country. To learn more about him or to set up a school or conference visit, go to his website www.sneedbcollardiii.com or the website of Bucking Horse Books, www.buckinghorsebooks.com .

Editorial Reviews

02/01/2014
Gr 3–6—Sam's attempt to return a lost dog to its owner on the other side of Enterprise turns into a time travel adventure and a foray into local politics. A unique coincidence of a passing comet and a lightning strike enables the dog, Sophie, to routinely make the journey from her 1926 home with 11-year-old Rollie to Sam's time in 2012 (along with anyone else who is in Rollie's bedroom closet with her). Sam follows the canine back to 1926 and finds a kindred spirit in Rollie. The boys are shocked by the way time has changed their city; Sam is amazed by the flourishing Enterprise of 1926, years before the mass exodus to the suburbs engendered by the Expressway, whereas Rollie is revolted by the decrepit, deserted state of his former neighborhood in 2012. Rollie, Sam, and eventually Sam's grandfather, Horace, search for a way to help Tim Andropolis-a recently fired City Planner who is opposing further expansion of the Expressway and proposing a rail-based mass transit system that will repopulate and revitalize downtown Enterprise. Andropolis's main opposition are the Cheesebro brothers, whose ancestors were equally troubling in 1926. Dog 4491 implements time travel to effortlessly compare the "good old days" with current times in a dying downtown, giving readers an introduction to the topic of urban development. Some of the social commentary is a bit heavy-handed: Sam is described as being out of shape because "his school had cut their P.E. program the year before" and the state achievement tests' acronym is "TIL-Testing Instead of Learning". Andropolis, the Cheesebro brothers and the corrupt Mayor are stereotypical, two-dimensional characters. A purchase for larger libraries or fans of the author.—Kathy Cherniavsky, Ridgefield Library, CT

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