The Poet's Dog
By Patricia MachLachlan
Published by Katherine Tegen Books, 2018
Print Price: $5.99
Two kids, Nickel and Flora, who are siblings, are lost in the woods during a fierce blizzard. Luckily for them, they are found by a talking dog named Teddy. Ok, we know that dogs can't talk...but in this short book, dogs speak but can only be heard by children and poets. Teddy leads the kids to his master's cabin where they hole up against the elements. There's no worries because the cabin is fully stocked with food and water, has electricity, and has a working fireplace. Teddy's master, Sylvan, is a poetry teacher and constantly read to him so that's how Teddy picked up the gift for words and gab. But Sylvan is no longer around. Teddy has been living on his own, looked after by one of Sylvan's friends. As the days go by and the storm doesn't let up, the kids gradually learn what happened to Teddy's master.
I never could get into this book. The setup...a dog rescuing two kids...was meant for a hallmark channel movie and I never got past that. Yeah, you're supposed to be "touched". You're supposed to go "awwwww" the whole time you're reading the book. I am above such manipulation! I never really cared for or felt the characters were three dimensional. They just uttered their short terse lines as the plot slowly undulated. If the book had been any longer, I probably would not have finished it. It was dull. And I never really understood how the two kids became lost in the woods. It's like the author stuck them in the woods just to write her story. I get it, MacLachlan was trying to write a kid's book with the depth of The Little Prince. She failed.
My Grade: F
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