Gully's Travels [Hardcover]

Tor Seidler (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 8 and up | Grade Level: 3 and up

"Tor Seidler writes in the great tradition of Kenneth Grahame, Walter R. Brooks, and E. B. White."-Michael Cart, Booklist

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. Gulliver, an affable but snobbish Lhasa apso, lives at a fashionable Manhattan address, enjoys opera and looks forward to yearly trips to Paris where he reconnects with Chloe, a Maltese with eyes as black as raisins, while his professor enjoys a nightly tête-à-tête with the beautiful Madeline de Crecy, who is allergic to long-haired dogs. When Madeline accepts the professor's marriage proposal, Gulliver is dispatched to live at the doorman's tasteless, overcrowded, no-frills apartment in Queens, with kids who treat Gully like an indestructible plaything. Gulliver, believing he's been kidnapped, cunningly retraces his steps, first to Manhattan, then to Paris. The real journey takes place in his heart, where he comes to understand that although loyalty is the hallmark of a well-bred dog, his has been misplaced. Seidler (Mean Margaret) transfers human foibles to his animal characters in well-modulated comic prose, while Cole (Good Enough to Eat) creates expressive canines in fluid line drawings. A spirited animal fantasy for the chapter book set. All ages. (Sept.)
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From School Library Journal

Starred Review. Grade 4–7—Gulliver, a Lhasa apso, has a happy life with his master, Professor Rattigan, in a Manhattan apartment. His diet consists of his favorite flavor of canned dog food, he and his master travel to Paris every summer, and his walks around Washington Square are the perfect distance for his short legs. However, his life suffers a dramatic change when his master gets engaged to his French girlfriend, who is allergic to dogs. Gulliver, now Gully, moves to Queens and lives with the family of Carlos, the doorman at his previous building, where he is served dry food and shares a home with three other dogs, a talkative gerbil, and an eight-year-old girl. Gully can't understand why his professor has deserted him, so he travels on his own to Manhattan and to Paris, discovering along the way that a loving home means more to him than luxuries. Gully's travels, both literal and metaphoric, are presented in a realistic and dramatic fashion. The pup's interactions with the other pets he meets ring true, as does their limited understanding of their owners. This appealing tale features popular themes including adventure, dogs, and travel, and will grab readers' attention. Cole's sketches on nearly every page help to bring this diverse cast of characters to life.—Beth L. Meister, Milwaukee Jewish Day School, WI
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 8 and up
  
• Hardcover: 192 pages
• Publisher: Michael di Capua Books (September 1, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0545025060
• ISBN-13: 978-0545025065
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6.9 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #521,982 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:

4.0 out of 5 stars More Than Humans Can Suffer Betrayal, December 12, 2008

By 

Kemie Nix "Founder, Children's Literature for... (Peachtree City, GA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Gully's Travels (Hardcover)

Gully is a Lhasa apso, the thoroughly pampered pet of a rich professor who takes him to Paris every summer. One summer in Paris, however, Gully's cushy life takes a terrible turn. His professor falls in love with a woman who is allergic to long-haired dogs. After returning to New York, without much empathy or concern, the professor gives Gully to his doorman. Gully abruptly finds himself in a large, noisy menagerie of too friendly children and none-too-friendly dogs. Roberto, the young man of the family who lives in a hut in the backyard in order to save money to become a journalist, befriends the frightened little dog. Gully, who
becomes convinced that his professor needs him, actually makes his way across the city to help his friend. His dismay is profound when the professor returns him to the doorman.

Gully continues to suffer misadventures, including a difficult trip to Paris to see a Maltese that he once loved -- another disaster. Gully, of course, has no way to return home. With a wonderful, flaky denouement, the author makes the reader sympathize with a dog's-eye view of the world -- and one adorable canine. The pencil illustrations by
Brock Cole are expressive and empathetic. The final picture of Gully with Roberto is worth the price of admission alone.

5.0 out of 5 stars adorable dog story for animal lovers, December 16, 2008

By 

M. Tanenbaum (Claremont, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Gully's Travels (Hardcover)

Gulliver, a Lhasa Apso, lives a pampered life in a Manhattan apartment, including spending summers in Paris, until his owner falls for a woman allergic to long-haired dogs. His life falls apart when his master gives him away to the building's doorman, who lives in plebian Queens with his large family and 3 mutts. When Gulliver tries to escape to go back to his original owner, he has a series of remarkable adventures that take him all the way to Paris. In the end, he finds his true home with people who love him. This novel is a charming, humorous, fast-moving story with talking animals perfect for animal lovers. And the dog does not die! It is a good read-aloud for younger children as well. The novel features attractive illustrations by Brock Cole.

5.0 out of 5 stars A perfect family read-aloud, November 19, 2008

By 

A Customer (New York, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Gully's Travels (Hardcover)

Gulliver enjoys the finer things in life. He loves gourmet cuisine, Italian opera and fashion. He lives in one of the most exclusive addresses in Manhattan and enjoys long walks in Washington Square Park near his home. But most of all he looks forward to his annual trip to Paris, where he and his girlfriend Chloe share fabulous French cuisine. All in all, it's not a bad life for a dog.

Oh, did I forget to mention that Gulliver is a dog? A Lhasa apso, to be precise? That's not surprising, considering that Gulliver himself, with his fashionable jewel-studded collar, Prime Premium dog food and regular grooming appointments, sometimes forgets that he has anything in common with those mutts he sometimes runs into at the dog park.

But when Gulliver's owner, a cultured NYU English professor who apparently enjoys the duo's annual trips to France even more than his pet, falls in love with a French woman who happens to be allergic to long-haired dogs, Gulliver is cruelly reminded that he is a canine. Abruptly, his owner willingly --- and far too easily --- gives Gulliver (or Gully, as he'll soon be dubbed) to his doorman, who takes him back to his family in Queens, a borough so remote that Gully wasn't even aware it was part of the same city as Manhattan. There he's mauled by the neighborhood children, terrorized by the family's three mixed-breed dogs, and eventually befriended by a street-smart gerbil named J.C.

Convinced that this new life is the ultimate insult to his noble pedigree, refusing to believe that Professor Rattigan willingly left him in this new environment, Gully goes to incredible lengths --- and practically halfway across the world --- to find the place where he really belongs. But when human loyalty is put to the test, Gully discovers that his real home --- and the person he was destined to belong to --- might be found in a most unexpected place after all.

It sometimes seems rare to find an uplifting dog story, one where the dog is not mistreated, horribly injured, or dead by the end. GULLY'S TRAVELS is just that book. It imparts critical lessons about loyalty, family and privilege without ever being preachy, and it introduces a dog whom readers may initially envy, then pity, then admire as he undergoes his own personal coming-of-age. The narrative moves quickly from episode to episode, as Gully makes some brave travels indeed --- whether between continents or just between boroughs.

The only exception is an awkward decision to tell a major portion of Gully's dramatic story through the voice of a human friend, only to retell it from Gully's own perspective. This brief slow-down in the action, however, can be forgiven in what is, overall, a thoroughly appealing novel. Tor Seidler's engaging prose is matched by Brock Cole's expressive illustrations, which effectively capture, in a few well-chosen lines, Seidler's transformation of Gulliver to Gully. The numerous illustrations make this a perfect family read-aloud, ideal for any children who have ever loved --- or wanted to love --- a dog of their own.

--- Reviewed by Norah Piehl