Module 8: Smells Like Dog by Suzanne Selfors
Smells Like Dog by Suzanne Selfors is the intriguing mystery about a boy who is on a search for a mysterious treasure after the untimely death of his explorer uncle.
Summary
Homer pudding is a shy and awkward boy who finds himself in an unlikely situation when he sets off to find a mysterious treasure . Following the death of his beloved Uncle, Drake Homer is given his shoes and his basset hound.
The tag Homer finds on the dog’s neck leads him on a wild adventure to The City where he meets a variety of unsavory characters and makes a few new friends. He is seeking the meaning of the letters on the dog’s tag: L.O.S.T. This treasure hunting is at times dangerous and always exciting as it reveals to him a lot of information about his uncle and about himself.
The dog is a great sidekick as he explores and tries to figure things out and helps him find information and clues more than once. It takes most of the book for Homer to discover all of the ways he has been getting help from the dog and to figure out just why Uncle Drake called Dog his "most prized possession".
Impressions
This was a really fun read even though I thought it started out a little slow. Once the mysteries start piling up like what’s up with the dog, what is the meaning of the letters on the tag, what are the details surrounding Uncle Drake’s death by tortoise, and why are the clouds watching him, then the plot gets really interesting. This book will be challenging for younger readers because it is quite long and there are a whole host of characters and settings to keep track of throughout the story. This book left me wanting more, so I was very glad to discover that there are sequels featuring Homer and some of the other characters from this story.
Professional Reviews
Homer Pudding is a luckless 12-year old who dreams of hunting treasure like the uncle he idolizes. When his uncle is eaten by a killer tortoise, Homer gets swept into the middle of a treacherous race to locate a pirate's treasure. A whimsical narration and sometimes comical dialogue add a light touch-but perhaps not quite light enough, as the boy's initial cheerlessness makes him hard to warm up to. The pace picks up when he arrives in The City, however, and gets himself out of danger more than once by using his wits. He is aided by Dog, a peculiar basset who turns out to have surprising sleuthing skills of his own, though readers will figure this out long before Homer does. The main villain is appropriately over-the-top: she's a ruthless museum director who seeks the treasure for personal gain, rather than sharing with the world. Occasionally silly plot contrivances make Homer's journey less than gripping, but they match the consistent mix of silliness and action. The boy's growth from hapless loser to skilled treasure hunter is fairly convincing; Homer uses his uncle's advice and the story of the Odyssey for inspiration and steadily gains confidence. The supporting cast is quirky and mildly amusing, if not especially memorable. The perky homeless girl who aids, and then betrays, Homer is more intriguing, though; the conclusion sets her up as a potential rival or possible friend in future installments.
Engelfried, 2010
Selfors offers up an adventure tale that features a humorous, high-stakes mystery and a lovable hero. Twelve-year-old Homer Pudding lives on a goat farm but dreams of growing up to be a great treasure hunter like his uncle, Drake Pudding. Drake spent most of his career searching for the greatest mass of loot collected by another great treasure hunter, the late Rumpold Smeller. When Drake dies under mysterious circumstances, he bequeaths a sad-eyed basset hound named Dog to Homer. Attached to Dog’s collar is a coin etched with the letters L.O.S.T. As Homer races to decipher the meaning of L.O.S.T., find Smeller’s treasure and locate the whereabouts of Drake’s vast library, he discovers a valuable secret about Dog. Along the way, Homer encounters the devious Madame la Directeur, the pink-haired homeless girl Lorelei, Ajitabh, the inventor of the cloudcopter, and other equally memorable characters who help or hinder his quest. Peppered with funny dialogue, this joyous romp is a page-turning adventure that will appeal to enthusiastic and reluctant readers alike.
Kirkus, 2010
Library Uses
This could be used in the library as part of a book and/or drawing club for boys.
References
Engelfried, S. (2010). Smells Like Dog. School Library Journal, 56(5), 122.
Selfors, S. (2010). Smells like dog. New York, NY: Little, Brown and Co.
Smells like dog. (2010). Kirkus Reviews. Retrieved from https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-
reviews/suzanne-selfors/smells-like-dog/
No comments:
Post a Comment