Reviews:

School Library Journal

Gr. 3-5. Larry is spending the summer doing his two favorite things—playing baseball and taking care of the dogs he finds and brings home. Then his younger brother discovers a mysterious red mark on the wall of an alley and worries that it is blood. While they are investigating the alley, the brothers come across another stray but this one won't let Larry get close to it. Meanwhile, he discovers that the price of dog food has gone up and worries about having enough money to feed the animals in his care. By solving the mystery in the alley, Larry is able to find a way to feed the animals and also figures out how to approach the stray and take it home. The suspense in this easy-to-read chapter book will carry readers through to the end. The relationship between the brothers is warmly depicted, as Larry looks out for and spends time with Paul. A good transition novel for young readers on to chapter books.

Kirkus Reviews, April 1, 2004

Larry Haskins spent a nearly wonderful summer playing baseball and caring for his three stray dogs. He's always looking for good homes to place them with, since his family isn't well-off, and he can keep only as many as he can afford to feed. Paul, his excitable six-year-old brother, sees a possibly black-lab puppy growling beneath a suspicious stain on the wall of an alley. Paul's sure someone was murdered; Larry just wants to help the puppy. He is, however, running out of funds to buy dog food. Every plan he makes to earn money fails until the mystery of the stain and the puppy provides the answers he needs.

Lubar has given parents and teachers of reluctant male readers something to cheer about-especially if they are concerned about the siren call of action-packed, violent series fiction. This gentle story with a laudable hero will draw young boys in as they recognize themselves in Larry, and it will keep them turning pages as his problems mount. The story threads knit together for a happy ending that will leave them wishing it had lasted longer. (Fiction. 9-11)

Booklist, April 1, 2004

Gr. 3-6. The dog days of summer aren't lazy ones for Larry Haskins. He's busy playing baseball and caring for three stray dogs. He raises money for dog food by collecting aluminum cans and newspapers and seeking odd jobs. Larry strikes out when dog food prices rise, scrap yard prices drop, and a promised paper route falls through. Meanwhile, a red-stained alley wall and a growling stray make Larry's younger brother fear there's been a death. Larry solves the slight mystery by discovering an innocent reason for the stains, which leads to a satisfying solution to his money problems. Lubar's trademark humor is missing, and the comparison between the wandering dog and the wandering boy is forced. The baseball scenes are solid hits, however, and children learning about similies will get some exposure ("In the bowls, the chunks of dry food disappeared like coins in a magician's hands"). Give this to dog fans not quite ready for Phyllis Naylor's Shiloh (1991); they'll appreciate Larry's perseverance and empathy

Publishers Weekly , May, 2004

As Lubar's (Dunk) brief, disappointing tale of one boy's summer begins, outfielder Larry misses a catch to make the game-ending third out-because his six-year-old brother calls to him, "Someone needs help." Paul leads Larry to an alley where a mysterious red stain covers the wall, and a growling stray appears to be guarding the spot. "Besides baseball, there wasn't anything in the world [Larry] liked as much as dogs." And dogs love Larry, who takes in many a stray until he can find them homes, so he can't understand the alley dog's reaction. The protagonist becomes intrigued when new red stains start appearing on the wall and the dog continues to growl at him emphatically. While unraveling the puzzle, Larry discovers a way to tackle his two biggest problems, rising dog food prices for his homeless brood and losing the paper route he'd been promised. The tale feels sketchy, compared with Lubar's previous novels. Even the relationship between Larry and Paul, the only characters with any development here, seems unrealistic. Readers might believe that Paul would interrupt Larry at a pivotal moment on the field once, but twice (while Larry's at bat with a full count and the perfect pitch is about to come over the plate)? And his friends never comment on Larry's sabotage of their games. Fans of baseball and dogs will likely feel that they don't get to see enough of either to hold their interest. Ages 9-14. (May, 2004)

Children's Literature

In this short, gracefully told novel, Larry is spending the summer playing baseball with his buddies and hanging out. But he also is supporting three stray dogs that his parents let him keep if he provides all of the food, a task the boy cheerfully tackles by doing odd jobs and collecting aluminum cans and paper which he takes to the local junk yard dealer for money. But the costs of dog food have gone up, Larry's profits have gone down since the city started its own recycling program, and things look bleak. In addition, his pesky five-year-old brother Paul has discovered another stray dog standing in an alley by what looks like blood on the walls and ground nearby. When Larry figures out by patient observation what is going on when he sees the back door of a restaurant open, his observations earn him a real job plus another dog to care for. Interesting subtexts are the two brothers' relationship that reveals

Larry as an exasperated but also caring older brother and Paul as a timid younger one who gains courage over his fear of dogs with his brother's support. It's rare to find a book in which someone under the age of fifteen earns money in so many ways and so persistently. Larry's great example of entrepreneurship seems to be from another decade, although nothing in the book indicates a setting other than contemporary small-town America. Large print and an artful layout invite older less able readers to tackle this short story laid out in under 80 pages. Other plusses are the baseball details (and Paul's annoying way of calling from the sidelines just as Larry is about to make the catch or hit the home run) that flavor the story without overwhelming it, parents who are supportive but absent from the story, and a satisfying ending of problems solved without adult help, plus another great dog to be added to Larry's canine corps. 2004, Darby Creek, Ages 9 to 12.