Rate this book

Dart And The Squirrels (2011)

by Nicole Izmaylov(Favorite Author)

4.84 of 5 Votes: 2

ISBN

1937085066 (ISBN13: 9781937085063)

languge

English

genre

Humor

publisher

World Castle Publishing

review 1: A world-weary old dog lies at the back of his crate in the pound thinking no-one will want to adopt a dog like him. Then along comes the wild Scribe tribe, whose son, with all the panache of a charging rhino, bizarrely decides the animal has exactly the qualities a boy needs in a dog, and chooses him above all the endearing little puppies. He promptly names him D'Artagnan Whirligig Scribe, aka Dart. Mr Scribe (father) pays the pound, pays the vet for clearance and pays the Happy Sunshine Obedience Fun owner “fifty bucks for a measly three biscuits and a hand on his butt” and off they all go. Then the fun begins. Dart seems to attract trouble wherever he goes, and he is especially mischievous at Show and Tell when ‘Boy’ takes him to school. But misadventure aside,... more and despite Dart’s perception of matters being so very far removed from that of his human owners, Dart’s life is pretty good. Until, that is, a tornado comes along and uproots a tree which ends up inside the Scribe’s house. With it comes the bane of Dart’s life - a squirrel, promptly adopted and named Emilia Vuvuzela Scribe. Dart finds it difficult to like Emilia. She gets all the best food, what he thinks are his treats and most of the attention. Although he does manage to steal the treats before she gets close enough to eat them. But he still cannot like her. Then he senses she needs help in an affair of the heart and he changes his opinion of her. She doesn't seem so bad after all. As a consequence; his romantic side takes over and he quietly plots to make her happy.Dart is the narrator of the book and, amongst other things, treats us all to his cynical take on pet owners, and eloquently illustrates how our pets are probably not thinking what we think they are thinking at all.Dart and the Squirrels is intelligently written and Nicole Izmaylov’s style is quite unique. It’s also lots of fun. But what makes it exceptional is it was written when the author was in middle school. Quite remarkable! For me this is very deserving of 5 stars.
review 2: Being a reader of young adult fiction and this being an elementary school book (I entered so I could donate it to the school library where the budget has been drastically cut), I struggled while I read it. It was hard for me to follow. The book it told through the eyes of a dog—an old dog who has been rescued from the pound. It deals with his struggle to remain the number one pet when the family adopts a squirrel left homeless from a storm. (NOTE: The storm part did bother me because we live close to Joplin, MO and the toll it took on our students at school.) Not to be narrow-minded, I gave it to a friend who teaches elementary. She said that it would be a great book for just the right reader. In other words, it would have a narrow fan base. However, there are kids how would love it and getting kids to read it the main focus for me. It will soon have a new home in our school library for those kids! less

Download links for: Dart and the Squirrels

Advertising