Week 4: A Dog Called Kitty

• Week: 4
• Book Title: A Dog Called Kitty by Bill Wallace

• Book Cover Image:

Copyright 1980, Scholastic Inc.

• Book Summary:  A boy who is afraid of dogs learns to love a stray.  They have adventures and save each other from a pack of wild dogs.  When Kitty dies in a bizarre accident, strangely, the cycle begins again.
• APA Reference:  Wallace, B.  (1980).  A dog named Kitty.  New York, NY: Scholastic Inc.
• My Impressions:  I expected something completely different.  This is a touching tale of a dog and boy's devotion to one another.  It is also the story of a child facing and overcoming debilitating fear.  It is a wonderful story because of the hope it gives children who have a fear of something.  Kitty makes the reader laugh and engage in the antics a happy dog performs.  I love the images of the mom feeding the cats and Kitty's interaction with them both.  There are some interesting animal rights things brought up . . . should destructive animals be killed with poisonous bait that pets could get into?  This could bring some interesting discussions to the library.  
• Professional Review:

School Library Journal ( May 01, 1997; 9780807276372 )

Gr 3-5‘Bill Wallace's story (Holiday, 1980) of the bonding between a boy and a dog is not to be missed. This presentation, read by L.J. Ganser, is so softly dramatic that it not only captures the essence of gentle emotion but essentially transports readers to the Oklahoma farm where Ricky exhibits courage beyond belief. Ricky is terrified by dogs because as a toddler he was mercilessly mauled by a rabid dog and left to die. Sixty-three stitches later with no anesthesia, Ricky is scarred with the emotional and physical memories that constantly recall his tragedy. The softness of Ganser's voice reflects the softness of Ricky's heart when a puppy is left to starve because he responds with a littler of kittens for food but is rejected. Hence, the name Kitty. Ricky musters all his courage and feeds the puppy, building a closeness that only friends realize and conquering his all-consuming fear. With Ricky, readers suffer the loss and feel the anguish when Kitty is accidentally killed at an oil rig. Hope, however, still prevails and happiness does come through sorrow. Ganser brings life and emotion to a powerful story with his dramatic rendition. This touching and encouraging story add a further dimension to the significance of boy and dog relationships, and should be high on public and school library priority lists.-Patricia Mahoney Brown, Franklin Elementary School, Kenmore, NY (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. Brown, P. (1997, May 1). [Review of the book A dog called Kitty, by B. Wallace].  Library Journals LLC. Retrieved  from http://www.bowker.com/.

• Library Uses:  This is an excellent tale of courage and strength of realtionship between human and dog.  I would love to use this book as a start of a service dog unit.  I would include other stories about working dogs and have one of the local visiting dogs come to the library.  I would also ask our local K-9 police unit to visit and have the officer read in the library.