A Dog's Life
By Preston Zheng
It’s hard to imagine living as a stray dog, but Ann M. Martin sure does know how it feels like to be a dog! The fictional autobiography, "A Dog's Life" by Ann M. Martin is told from a stray dog’s perspective, Squirrel. At first, Squirrel lives in the Merrions’s property. She lives in the shed with her mother and her brother, Bone. However, a tragedy occurs and her mother is killed, leaving Bone and Squirrel to move on their own. Overcoming several obstacles from cruel humans to caring humans, Squirrel learns how to live on her own, Bone lost and another companion dead, Moon.
I like this book, because the story revolves around an adventure from the perspective of the dog. Sometimes, it gets boring reading stories without the fantasy or science-fiction aspect, as realistic-fiction genre books can be a little dull at times. However, this is a unique way of telling a story, and it can be quite tough to write this type of story. This story is cool and is different from many books.
In this book, Squirrel lives with Bone and Mother, whom take care of her until she's ready to take on the world herself and start being independent. Squirrel faces a short dilemma of losing her mother, and she's forced to move on afterwards with Bone, her brother. This is one aspect of the book that I don't like, is that it jumps in rather too quickly. It's a sudden death at the beginning, and the character already starts in her journey. Also, they don't show a lot of emotion, which does make some of the events seem just a little dull, but the events are great, still.
This book also teaches the lesson that one can overcome anything if you are determined, and that an adventure cannot be without a conflict. Squirrel had to move on alone for the rest of the journey, after losing Mother, Bone, and Moon. These were all dogs that she depended on, that she relied on for safety, comfort, and guidance. This was just about how life is supposed to go, but this abrupt and sharp turn makes for some really surprising moments. It's definitely hard to overcome conflict without support, but Squirrel still stayed strong.
My favorite character by far, is Susan, who takes in Squirrel. Even though she has a lot going through her life, and she can't do many things (she is an elderly) well, she still has the compassion and patience to train Squirrel. This shows the nice humans, who take in the animals, but have to set up everything and make sure they can actually handle a possible burden.
Overall, this is definitely a book you should check out or even buy! It's full of action, yet it has that simple aspect that makes it easier to read and understand the text! This isn't recommended for in-depth reading, but it can make for good discussions about the book. However, this book can be a little dull when reading it, because it contains not much voice and not a lot of emotion is portrayed. Yet again, this is told from a dog's point of view, which makes it very unique.
I like this book, because the story revolves around an adventure from the perspective of the dog. Sometimes, it gets boring reading stories without the fantasy or science-fiction aspect, as realistic-fiction genre books can be a little dull at times. However, this is a unique way of telling a story, and it can be quite tough to write this type of story. This story is cool and is different from many books.
In this book, Squirrel lives with Bone and Mother, whom take care of her until she's ready to take on the world herself and start being independent. Squirrel faces a short dilemma of losing her mother, and she's forced to move on afterwards with Bone, her brother. This is one aspect of the book that I don't like, is that it jumps in rather too quickly. It's a sudden death at the beginning, and the character already starts in her journey. Also, they don't show a lot of emotion, which does make some of the events seem just a little dull, but the events are great, still.
This book also teaches the lesson that one can overcome anything if you are determined, and that an adventure cannot be without a conflict. Squirrel had to move on alone for the rest of the journey, after losing Mother, Bone, and Moon. These were all dogs that she depended on, that she relied on for safety, comfort, and guidance. This was just about how life is supposed to go, but this abrupt and sharp turn makes for some really surprising moments. It's definitely hard to overcome conflict without support, but Squirrel still stayed strong.
My favorite character by far, is Susan, who takes in Squirrel. Even though she has a lot going through her life, and she can't do many things (she is an elderly) well, she still has the compassion and patience to train Squirrel. This shows the nice humans, who take in the animals, but have to set up everything and make sure they can actually handle a possible burden.
Overall, this is definitely a book you should check out or even buy! It's full of action, yet it has that simple aspect that makes it easier to read and understand the text! This isn't recommended for in-depth reading, but it can make for good discussions about the book. However, this book can be a little dull when reading it, because it contains not much voice and not a lot of emotion is portrayed. Yet again, this is told from a dog's point of view, which makes it very unique.
A Dog's Life
By Dan Liu
I’ve never owned a dog, but Ann M. Martin certainly made me feel close to a dog and watch him/her growing up. A Dog’s Life: The Autobiography of a Stray is a story about Squirrel and her brother, Bone, who are stray dogs born in a shed behind a house. The book continues on when Bone and Squirrel’s mom is gone, and they leave the shed and get separated, then Squirrel is all alone. Luckily, she quickly meets up with a dog named Moon that she mistakes as Bone. They become very good friends and explore towns. But Moon gets hit by a truck, and now Squirrel is alone again. Squirrel goes through much as a stray and people treat her differently, some cruel, some kind. A family takes her in, but leaves her when they leave their house, except for an old woman at the end of the story, who takes care of Squirrel permanently and they live together as great friends, as if what they’ve been searching for was each other.
A Dog's Life: The Auto-biography of a Stray made me feel sad and happy. So don’t be surprised to see yourself crying at some of the best moments. When Bone got separated from Squirrel I felt sad because if your brother was taken away from you, you would want him back, and that is what Squirrel tried to do, but he couldn’t. When Moon died, I felt sad for Squirrel because she now has to fend for herself again. When Squirrel was taken in by the old woman in the end, you will feel happy for Squirrel, because she is now safe and sound and is being taken good care of.
This book fits into the theme of treating the animals humanely. Squirrel meets many owners. Some of them mean, some of them abandoning her, but some really just care for her really well, and are really nice and generous. This book has a fantasy genre. A dog is telling about its life. The dog’s life is realistic. I felt like I was in the book and following Squirrel’s tail. The author made Squirrel talk about details of her life very descriptively, so we could envision where Squirrel was all the time. “The town had great garbage. There was a school and a supermarket. …It was named The Wagging Tail, but Robert called it the pet shop.”
Readers who love a dog story will enjoy reading this heart wrenching book, that has a beautiful and happy ending. I really felt close to a dog, even though I don’t own one, but if you want to know what happens to Squirrel, you’ll have to read this book.
A Dog's Life: The Auto-biography of a Stray made me feel sad and happy. So don’t be surprised to see yourself crying at some of the best moments. When Bone got separated from Squirrel I felt sad because if your brother was taken away from you, you would want him back, and that is what Squirrel tried to do, but he couldn’t. When Moon died, I felt sad for Squirrel because she now has to fend for herself again. When Squirrel was taken in by the old woman in the end, you will feel happy for Squirrel, because she is now safe and sound and is being taken good care of.
This book fits into the theme of treating the animals humanely. Squirrel meets many owners. Some of them mean, some of them abandoning her, but some really just care for her really well, and are really nice and generous. This book has a fantasy genre. A dog is telling about its life. The dog’s life is realistic. I felt like I was in the book and following Squirrel’s tail. The author made Squirrel talk about details of her life very descriptively, so we could envision where Squirrel was all the time. “The town had great garbage. There was a school and a supermarket. …It was named The Wagging Tail, but Robert called it the pet shop.”
Readers who love a dog story will enjoy reading this heart wrenching book, that has a beautiful and happy ending. I really felt close to a dog, even though I don’t own one, but if you want to know what happens to Squirrel, you’ll have to read this book.
A Dog's Life
By Nicole Chen
The book A Dog’s Life by Ann M. Martin is about Squirrel, the main character and protagonist of the story who is a stray dog and starts off with companions. She has her mother and brother Bone. However, one day their mother disappears. Bone decided that it was time to find a new home and Squirrel follows along.
Ann M. Martin made this book’s storyline very touching and emotional for us human souls. Squirrel is lost alone in the city after Bone was taken away. She had to find her own food whether it was from trash cans or hunting. Nobody took in Squirrel at the time, she was alone, nobody to care for her.
One day, Squirrel meets a new friend, Moon. She was smaller than Squirrel but she was a stray too. Squirrel had almost thought it was Bone. They stayed together all the time from that era. They searched for food together, slept together, they did everything together. However, one day when they were in another town or city, a truck ran over them. Squirrel survived, but as for Moon, it was the opposite.
Even though Squirrel didn’t have anymore companions by her side, she never gave up. That’s one of the themes, to never give up. It’s more shameful to give up than it is to be faced with a hard challenge. Squirrel was struggling to find a farm to stay at during the winter but she didn’t give up yet. She went from place to place, trying to find the perfect shelter for the winter.
I would think this story is very touching and emotional because Squirrel is a stray who had lost her mother, brother (Bone), and Moon. She was all alone with nobody to accompany her, it was lonely. She was also running into other troubles with packs of stray dogs. Just because there wasn’t anyone there for her didn’t mean that she would give up, she continued on and on until she found a permanent home for the rest of her life.
Squirrel was a brave stray dog. She continued her quest alone. It was a long journey for her. Staying somewhere, moving again, staying there, moving again, she continues searching for a home nonstop. Will she ever find a permanent home with a loving and caring owner? To find out more, read this amazing book!
Ann M. Martin made this book’s storyline very touching and emotional for us human souls. Squirrel is lost alone in the city after Bone was taken away. She had to find her own food whether it was from trash cans or hunting. Nobody took in Squirrel at the time, she was alone, nobody to care for her.
One day, Squirrel meets a new friend, Moon. She was smaller than Squirrel but she was a stray too. Squirrel had almost thought it was Bone. They stayed together all the time from that era. They searched for food together, slept together, they did everything together. However, one day when they were in another town or city, a truck ran over them. Squirrel survived, but as for Moon, it was the opposite.
Even though Squirrel didn’t have anymore companions by her side, she never gave up. That’s one of the themes, to never give up. It’s more shameful to give up than it is to be faced with a hard challenge. Squirrel was struggling to find a farm to stay at during the winter but she didn’t give up yet. She went from place to place, trying to find the perfect shelter for the winter.
I would think this story is very touching and emotional because Squirrel is a stray who had lost her mother, brother (Bone), and Moon. She was all alone with nobody to accompany her, it was lonely. She was also running into other troubles with packs of stray dogs. Just because there wasn’t anyone there for her didn’t mean that she would give up, she continued on and on until she found a permanent home for the rest of her life.
Squirrel was a brave stray dog. She continued her quest alone. It was a long journey for her. Staying somewhere, moving again, staying there, moving again, she continues searching for a home nonstop. Will she ever find a permanent home with a loving and caring owner? To find out more, read this amazing book!