about the book
Hobie Hanson is not sure how he is going to get through Monday. Since he met his friend Scooter four years ago, this will be the first day that they won’t be together. Scooter’s family moved to Portland where his dad is needed at the ship yards to help with the war effort.
WWII seems to be taking everyone away. Hobie’s dad is in Europe flying B24s for the Army Air Corps. Those left at home are doing everything they can to support the troops.
Uncle Tryg keeps the family’s fishing boat going, and Mom joined the Red Cross. Hobie is saving dimes for Victory Stamps and even got the neighbor to donate her two girdles for the rubber round-up!
But Hobie keeps hearing about the new K-9 corps. Even his radio hero, Hop Harrigan, is calling for children to voluntarily lend their pets for the Dogs for Defense program. There is no way Hobie can let his beloved German shepherd go. Duke is now is only his companion.
But pressured by all the patriotic Uncle Sam ads demanding that each person do more, Hobie does loan Duke to the K9 program…and immediately regrets his impulsive decision.
Though everyone praises him for his bravery, Hobie obsesses over bringing Duke back home. Writing letters to Duke’s handler, Marine Pfc Marvin Corff, Hobie tries to get Duke declared unfit for military duty.
But when his father’s plane crashes and he is captured by the Germans, Hobie realizes that Duke’s service overseas may be the only way to get his father home. In one last letter to Private Marvin, he reveals a secret about Duke’s special talent. It might save the Private’s life, but will he ever see his Dad again?
And will Duke ever come home again?
about the author
The bossy, oldest child of four, Kirby Larson was raised in the state of Washington. She went to five elementary schools, two junior high schools, and two high schools.
Since she was always the “new kid,” books were her salvation. Teachers complained that she read all the time, but that reading eventually led to her writing career!
As a senior in high school, she argued with a guy named Neil in the library—and four years later she married him! They have two grown children, a son and a daughter. Kirby, Neil, and Winston, their Wonder Dog, make their home in Kenmore, Washington, but spend as much time as they can at a seaside cabin on the Canadian border.
Kirby graduated with a bachelor’s degree in broadcast journalism from Western Washington State College and a master’s in communication education from the University of Washington. She is on the faculty of the Whidbey Writer’s Workshop MFA program. She has given over 200 presentations in schools, libraries, workshops and seminars.
Kirby was inspired to write Duke after she heard about her husband’s uncle, Palmer Bruland. Palmer flew B-24s during WWII and was captured by the Nazis and sent to Stalag Luft I, a prison camp which held 8,939 American, British, Canadian and New Zealand officers. While doing research on Palmer, Kirby ran across articles on how children helped the war effort. She began to wonder how she would feel if she had to volunteer Sam, her dog, to the Dogs for Defense program.
Kirby lives in Kenmore, Washington, near Seattle but spends as much time as she can at the family’s beach house near the Canadian border. You might think it is odd, but for a treat Kirby prefers plain rice to chocolate!
Sources:
Author website
Author biography: Fresh Fiction
Author interview: ALSC Blog
Author interview: Maw Books Blog
Also by Kirby Larson:
Lucky Dog : Twelve Tales of Rescued Dogs. Scholastic. 2014.
Two Bobbies : A True Story of Hurricane Katrina, Friendship, and Survival. Walker Books for Young Readers. 2008.
read more!
Lucky Dog : Twelve Tales of Rescued Dogs by Kirby Larson
Written by different authors, these stories are about rescued pups who find a home at the Pawley Rescue Center. There is Oscar, a Cavalier King Charles spaniel, who helps a boy cope with his father’s deployment; Foxtrot, a feisty Pomeranian who can’t bear to leave her best friend; and Pumpkin, one of the 101 Chihuahuas who turns life upside down at the center!
Saving Zasha by Randi Barrow
In 1945, Mikhail finds a dying man with his German shepherd in the woods. In Russia, this breed is outlawed, and anyone who owns one is considered a traitor. Mikhail and his family are determined to save the dog from the hard-hearted officials, a snoopy classmate, a pair of dog thieves, and a dog breeder with evil plans.
Soldier Dog by Sam Angus
It is 1914, and the world is on the brink of World War I. When his brother leaves for combat, Stanley is left with his bitter and angry father. All Stanley has are his family’s greyhound puppies. Then one day, Stanley wakes up to find his father and the dogs are gone. With nowhere else to go, Stanley fibs his way into the army, and ends up at the Army’s War Dog School, training a greyhound named Bones.