about the book
Mark really wants a dog, but his mom says, “No way.” Dogs piddle. Dogs growl. Dogs chew on everything!
All Mark’s friends have dogs. Alex’s white German Sheppard, Blizzard, doesn’t piddle. Samantha’s dachshund, Hot Dog, doesn’t chew on anything but bones. Ryan’s schnoodle, Cinder, doesn’t bark—much.
And Trent’s Fido walks sedately on a leash… okay, so Fido is actually a marmalade colored cat. But she acts like a dog!
Ever since his dad went out for a loaf of bread and kept on going, Mark has been feeling alone. But no matter how he asks, pleads, or whines, Mom says absolutely no dog, and when the mayor of Erthly says no dog. that means no dog! PERIOD!
Meanwhile, elsewhere in Erthly. a scared little pooch is looking for a boy. She is black with brown paws and face, with straight pointy ears that flop at the tips, and a whip-like tail that sits atop fluffy hunches. Her name is Buddy. She had a loving boy once. but when his family had to move. they gave her away. For a long time now, she has been on the run, looking for him.
Not far from where Buddy hides, old Charles Larue sits alone in a mansion. Hired as a caretaker, this taciturn odd gent is shunned by the Erthly community. All he wants is to belong. Now his boss is dead and the mansion is his. But what good is the big old empty house?
Three lonely beings, all longing for a friend. Can a deadly disaster bring them together…and even find them a place where they can play fetch?
about the author
Marion Dane Bauer grew up in the prairie town of Oglesby, Illinois, in the shadow of a cement mill. To some, it might have not seemed ideal, but to her it was paradise. She loved the banging trains, plant whistles, and puffy smoke from the tall industrial chimneys.
Her father was a chemist at the mill, her mother was a loving stay-at-home mom, and her older brother, Willis, had tons of boys to play with. Unfortunately, there were few friends for Marion.
Marion started kindergarten at the age of four, younger than most. Though she was a good student and got along with all the teachers, she was not well accepted by her classmates. Marion says “There was no way to get around it…I was a nerd!” Looking back now, she wonders how being an outsider helped her writing process.
She intended to study journalism but switched to teaching programs at the University of Missouri and the University of Oklahoma. Marion met and married Ronald Bauer, an Episcopal priest. She taught briefly in Wisconsin and Minnesota. After the birth of their son and daughter, their house became filled with foster kids, exchange students, and all sorts of pets. After no success writing picture books, she turned to contemporary novels for young readers. That was 75 books and thirty years ago!
After leaving her marriage, writing had to be a means of support as well as a passion. For twenty years, Marion lived with her partner, Ann Goddard. Marion is now over seventy, still writes, and lives alone in Eden Prairie, Minnesota. Well, not totally alone. Now she has a bunch of grandchildren! Bet they all enjoy reading her books before anyone else!
Sources:
Author website
Author biography : Wikipedia
Author page : Simon & Schuster
Also by Marion Dane Bauer:
A Bear Named Trouble. Clarion. 2005.
Runt. Clarion. 2002.
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