Waggit's Tale

June 23, 2008
Photographer Howe's first novel, based on his rescue of an abandoned dog in 1981, is a coming-of-age tale told from the canine perspective, with ample anthropomorphizing. Believing he has been separated from his owner, Waggit crisscrosses Central Park until he is befriended by Tazar, leader of a band of generally affable strays (“We are our own masters; we owe obedience to no one,” Tazar sternly tells Waggit). Waggit's new “brothers and sisters” teach him survival skills that may make vegetarians squirm, and he contributes by trapping “scurries” and “hoppers” when winter descends and food becomes scarce. A battle with a rival pack and the ever-present threat of park rangers who take dogs to the Great Unknown provide tension—Waggit gets captured, but ultimately gains a new home and owner. Dog lovers (especially New Yorkers) will enjoy the knee-high view of the park and Howe's take on canine vernacular—it's not Central Park West but “Goldenside,” and humans are “Uprights.” (A glossary and birds'-eye-view map marking both geography and plot points are provided.) Howe doesn't sugarcoat the lives of homeless dogs, and readers will find themselves drawn into the struggles and triumphs of Waggit's found family. Ages 10-up.

August 1, 2008
Gr 4-6-An abandoned puppy meets Tazar, leader of a pack of dogs that ekes out a precarious living in Central Park. The animals accept him and name him Waggit, after his constantly wagging tail, and he gradually learns how to hunt and scavenge for food and negotiate the many hazards of the park. Most important of all, he learns to distrust humans, or "Uprights." Then Waggit is captured by animal-control officers and taken to the pound. When a woman adopts him, he discovers what it's like to be a companion dog and to be treated kindly by a human, even though it means being completely dependent. This is an engaging story, and the various canine characters are depicted in loving detail. Howe does not romanticize the lives of feral dogs; Waggit, Tazar, and the rest of the pack contend with hunger, illness, and serious injuries. However, the tone of this book is less somber than Ann M. Martin's "A Dog's Life" (Scholastic, 2005), which deals with similar subject matter."Kathleen E. Gruver, Burlington County Library, Westampton, NJ"

Copyright 2008 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

January 1, 2009
Abandoned pup Waggit finds a family with other strays, each of whom has a distinctive voice. Scrounging for food and keeping away from the Uprights (humans) who want to carry them off to the Great Unknown (the dog pound), they hide in a city park and try to avoid an enemy pack. Dog fans will enjoy this tame adventure.

(Copyright 2009 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

July 1, 2008
When a white puppy gets lost in the park, he earnestly assumes that his owner will search for him. Only later, when he joins awell-organized packof homeless dogs, does he recognize that he has been abandoned. His new friends name him Waggit for his lively tail andtrain him in the ways of survival. Led by the astute Tazar, the dogs have staked out a secluded tunnel in a place much likeCentral Park, where they spend their days gathering food, protecting one another, spying on a rougher gang of dogs, and avoiding the Great Unknownthe pound. Enhancedby Rayyans chapter-header drawings, Howeschildrens-book debutpresents a charming, mostly episodictale complete with endearing characters and a convincing, inventedlexicon: humans, for instance, are Uprights, and winter is the Long Cold. Though a development thattakes Waggit away from the close-knit pack may leave some readers disappointed, the thoughtful questions raised by his decision elevate this gentle fantasy a notch above simpler animal-survival tales.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2008, American Library Association.)