Probably the World's Best Story About a Dog and the Girl Who Loved Me
Publisher
Atheneum Books for Young Readers
Publication Year
2011
ISBN
9781416905424
Pages
240 pages
Genre
realism
Format
novel
Item Type
Fiction
Annotation
Paolo's plan for August in Orange Grove City is to hire out his little brother to the neighbors. Georgie is six; he needs a manager. But then the family dog, Rufus, is stolen. Overnight, Paolo is trying to manage not just Georgie, but their deaf cousin, Billy, who speaks only with his hands; Henry, a strange vacation visitor whom the boys discover living locked in his aunt's attic; and Butter Schwartz, a lonely, half-wild schemer with a paper route. The last two are definite dognapping suspects...To top it all, a girl with a big-time crush on Paolo won't let him be, day or night, crisis or no crisis. For her, missing Rufus is nothing to snaring Paolo, who has met his match as a manager. The solution to the mystery of Rufus, the threat of Theresa, and the future must rest in Billy's hands.
Grade Level
3-5; 6-8
Lexile Measure
950L
Diversity Topics
Disability and Health; Physical disability; deaf; deaf child; mute; mute child
Main Character
male child
Race/Ethnicities
White
Family Formation
mother, father, and grandfather
Awards
Northern California Book Award, 2007, Finalist, Children's Literature
Children's Catalog, Nineteenth Edition, Supplement, 2007
Children's Choices, 2007 Grades 5-6 Book of the Year
Middle and Junior High School Library Catalog, Supplement to Ninth Edition, 2007
Keywords
sign language; ASL; adventure; ghost; small town; detectives; crushes; dogs
Diversity Impact
indirect
STARS Citation
Smith, D. J., "Probably the World's Best Story About a Dog and the Girl Who Loved Me" (2011). Diverse Families. 1618.
https://stars.library.ucf.edu/diversefamilies/1618