about the book
Filled with big dogs, the Cassidy home is never quiet.Great Pyrenees are a hundred forty pounds of drool and flying white fur, which clings to every corner of the Cassidy house.
Kodi is the resident dog, welcoming all the other Great Pyrs that Mrs. Cassidy rescues. Right now there are just two, Meg and Jack. Mr. Cassidy, a vet, is fine with the hubbub. Nine-year-old Alice loves the dogs, too. Dad’s rescued parrot, Lena, mimics everything. But the one who probably loves the animals the most is oldest daughter, Zoe.
When new neighbors move in across the street. Zoe, Alice, and their mom watch as fancy royal couches, chairs, and drapes are hauled into the house. The new neighbors are as stiff as their furniture. Living with them is their nine-year-old nephew, Philip, whose parents are too busy to care for him, and they are working out their own problems.
Philip doesn’t speak. He has just decided not to talk. No one knows what caused his silence, and his aunt is very quickly getting impatient with this annoying behavior.
Zoe understands that rescuing dogs is a very different thing than helping boys, but Philip definitely needs someone in his corner. She knows that what he needs is attention, care, understanding, and time, just like the dogs they take in. Zoe also knows a cuddly dog can thaw even the worst problems. It isn’t long before Philip is a mainstay at the warm and wild Cassidy home.
But everything changes when a fierce storm hits. The booming thunder, flashes of lightning, and pounding hail spooks Jack, and Philip chases after him in the dangerous storm. Zoe follows. What happens next changes all three of their lives.
about the author
Patricia MacLachlan was born in Cheyenne, Wyoming, and spent her earliest years in Minnesota. An only child, she often played out favorite scenes in books and had an imaginary friend that was so real her father had to negotiate with her to get the couch after dinner! Both of Patricia’s parents died when she was young. Forced to move out east, she always carries a small bag of prairie dirt with her.
Although she loved books, the thought of writing was intimidating. She once completed a school writing assignment on a 3×5 index card. The teacher was not amused. That night, Patricia wrote in her diary, “I shall try not to be writer.”
After attending the University of Connecticut, Patricia taught English, married Robert, and had three children. They lived in Williamsburg, Massachusetts, in a house built in 1793 that had mice and snakes in the basement.
Patricia didn’t start writing until she was 35 years old. After living and working with foster care and adoptive families, she knew she wanted to write about families and children. She won the Newbery Medal for her book, Sarah, Plain and Tall. She also won a National Humanities Medal for her distinguished intellectual achievements in the humanities.
After moving to a new house, Patricia had trouble writing. As she talked with young readers about what home is, she remembered her bag of prairie dirt; it helped her reconnect!
Sources:
Author interview: Mackin
Author biography: NCBLA Board of Directors
Author biography: Houghton Mifflin Reading
Author biography: Amazon
Also by Patricia MacLachlan:
Fly Away. Margaret K. McElderry Books. 2014.
The Truth of Me. Katherine Tegen Books. 2013.
Kindred Souls. Katherine Tegen Books. 2012.
Waiting for the Magic. Atheneum Books for Young Readers. 2011.
Word After Word After Word. Katherine Tegen Books. 2010.
Edward’s Eyes. Atheneum Books for Young Readers. 2007.
Grandfather’s Dance (Sarah, Plain and Tall). Joanna Colter. 2006.
More Perfect Than the Moon (Sarah, Plain and Tall). Joanna Colter. 2004.
Caleb’s Story (Sarah, Plain and Tall). Joanna Colter. 2001.
read more!
Swift by Robert J. Blake
When Johnnie is finally old enough and passes his safety test, he is allowed to go hunting with Pa and their dog Swift in the Alaskan wilderness. When Pa is injured in a fight with a bear, Johnnie and Swift set out on a long and dangerous journey to get help.
The Case of the Lost Boy (Buddy Files, Book 1) by Dori Hillestad Butler
Cat the Cat slides from page to page introducing her friends, like Mouse the Mouse, Fish the Fish, and Hound the Hound. But then she comes across a tentacle-armed, eye-stalked creature. When asked “Cat the Cat, who is that?” she responds, “I have no idea.” Could it be a new friend?
The Truth of Me by Patricia MacLachlan
Robbie and his dog, Ellie, spend the summer at his grandmother Maddy’s house, where Robbie uncovers hidden secrets about his emotionally distant parents and discovers several new things about himself.