Scrub Dog of Alaska by Walt Morey
Plot: In Aurora, a small town in Alaska, an unwanted puppy is thrown into the world to live on its own. Being small and clumsy, he was not wanted by his owner, Smiley Jackson.
Being half wolf, the little puppy, dubbed Scrub by the townspeople, takes to stealing food from coolers, windows and garbage piles to eat. He does not do too well with the people throwing things at him and local dogs chasing him, but months go by and he is still alive.
Eventually David Martin, a young boy who goes to school in Aurora, but lives a few miles out, finds him. David gives Scrub half his lunch every day for several weeks, but soon comes no more because he broke his leg.
Scrub, finding that David does not come anymore, is desperate for food and attempts to steal a large hunk of meat from a porch. The local dogs see him and chase him away, eventually catching and beating on him, leaving him for dead and taking his food.
Scotty, a friend of David Martin, finds Scrub and takes him to David and his family. They then nurse him back to health and tell Smiley Jackson where Scrub is, but Jackson, thinking Scrub still unfit for a sled dog, says he does not want him. Scrub continues to grow healthier and gets larger, eventually, Jackson sees him as a good sled dog and wants him back.
Positive: Think of this as a Call of the Wild type book, dog lovers will probably like this best. It was engaging and well written for a teen book. Our characters are fun and keep us reading to find out their fates.
Negative: The only negative things are when Smiley beats his dogs or David. A boy steals, two people freeze to death and another man attempts to steal.
Overall: My friend lent me this book and said I should read it; it turned out to be pretty good, I liked it. The book was not overly long and fairly engaging. It is not a must read, but if you have a few hours and do not want to think about the economy, this is a fun book.
Great reveiw Hannasus. I especially like the parting note about the economy, which ought to make publishers a bit less in the red, anyway.
This looks good. I do believe I shall give it a try, sooner or later. Have you ever read ‘Lost in the Barrens’, by Farley Mowat?
Oh, forgot this, but do you know anything about the author?
No I have’t read that, what is it about?
And no, I don’t know anything about the author, why?
The book is about two boys, one Canadian and one Indian, getting lost in the Barrens, a wasteland in far northern Canada, and how they survive the winter.
I was just curious about the author of “Scrub Dog”.
- Johann
I will look into that book, thanks for letting me know!
i liked this book so much i wish it never ended….
Hi,Im in 5th grade and i am on page70.Ive loved it so far.Yes it is very complicated.If someone was going to make a movie what actor would be good for David?