The Booford Summer [Paperback]

Susan Mathias Smith (Author), Andrew Glass (Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 8 and up | Grade Level: 4 and up

Ten-year-old Hayley launches a campaign to make grouchy Mr. Wood appreciate his dog, Booford, whom he never walks or plays with. She gets Booford what he needs; she also gets an unexpected friend -- Mr. Wood.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Gr. 3-6. Ten-year-old Hayley Larkin cares deeply about animals--especially her own five cats and the sad, floppy-eared mutt named Booford that has just moved in across the street. Booford's owner, Mr. Wood, keeps the dog chained to a tree, never taking it for walks or exercise. After trying to ignore the plaintive barking, Hayley finally requests permission to walk Booford herself, and, to her surprise, the grumpy Mr. Wood agrees. During the next few weeks her attentions and concern do wonders for the lonely pup, and even begin to thaw the reserve of its reclusive owner. Set in small-town Virginia, the story is peopled with interesting characters who deal with believable problems, and Mr. Wood's metamorphosis from a cold, unfeeling loner to a caring person is well-handled. Although safety issues are ignored (a child seeking out a hostile stranger seems ill-advised, even in a small town), the story never lags and will be popular with animal lovers. Kay Weisman --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Kirkus Reviews

Booford is the dog who just moved into the house across the street from ten-year-old Hayley Larken. Gregarious, animal-loving Hayley is outraged because Booford's owner, mean Mr. Wood, yells at the dog and never takes him for walks. She concocts schemes to get Mr. Wood to walk Booford, but finally follows her father's advice and just asks Mr. Wood if she can walk his dog. To Hayley's surprise, he agrees. Hayley begins walking Booford and making friends with Mr. Wood, who is not really mean at all, merely lonely. She discovers that Mr. Wood's wife has left him ``to find herself'' and that Booford was her dog. No wonder Mr. Wood looks so sad! Hayley then decides to help Mr. Wood just as she had helped the now happy Booford. But calling Mr. Wood's wife in Richmond is going too far. After a small blowup and a little drama, Hayley realizes that butting in to Mr. Wood's life is not the answer. The best thing she can do for him is just to be his friend. Smith pulls out all the standard children's-book tricks here: the not-really-mean next-door neighbor; the kindly, all-knowing dad; the spunky, busy-body heroine and her Trekkie best friend. The lack of a reunion between Mr. Wood and his wife is the only somewhat surprising element, but Smith makes even that seem conventional. A write-by-numbers novel. (Fiction. 8-11) -- Copyright ©1994, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 8 and up
  
• Paperback: 144 pages
• Publisher: Sandpiper (June 21, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0618432450
• ISBN-13: 978-0618432455
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,178,348 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Story!, February 11, 2008

By 

Murphy (Park City, UT United States) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Booford Summer (Paperback)

I collect Basset books and bought this because of the cover photo. Not sure what kind of hound Booford is but I didn't mind - this was a nice story.