A Dog Called Homeless
By Sarah Lean
4/5
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About this ebook
Praised by Newbery Medal–winning author Katherine Applegate as "graceful" and "miraculous," this Schneider Family Book Award–winning novel tells how one girl's friendship with a homeless dog mends a family's heart.
Cally Fisher knows she can see her dead mother, but the only other living soul who does is a mysterious wolfhound who always seems to be there when her mom appears. How can Cally convince anyone that her mom is still with the family, or persuade her dad that the huge silver-gray dog belongs with them?
With beautiful, spare writing and adorable animals, A Dog Called Homeless is perfect for readers of favorite middle-grade novels starring dogs, such as Because of Winn-Dixie and Shiloh.
Sarah Lean
Sarah Lean grew up in Wells, Somerset but now lives in Dorset with her husband, son and dog. She has worked as a page-planner for a newspaper, a stencil-maker and a gardener, amongst various other things. She gained a first class English degree and became a primary school teacher before returning to complete an MA in Creative and Critical Writing with University of Winchester. A Dog Called Homeless was her first novel.
Read more from Sarah Lean
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Reviews for A Dog Called Homeless
64 ratings11 reviews
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Oh this book is so wonderful - I want everyone to read it! The twists and turns in the story make it more than a "love the stray dog and save it" story. The book let's kids contemplate complex social/family situations.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Sensitively and beautifully told story of the effects of grief on adults vs children. Short, but packs a big punch. Themes of homelessness, community, family, persons with autism and disabilities, love. Recommended for adults as well as children.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Sensitive, gentle and poignant.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Schneider Family Award. This is a story about a young girl who loses her mother, but still sees her. No one believes that she can see her Mom, so she decides to stop talking. Grief and friendship are dominant themes. Lovely book with great character development.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5When Cally says she sees her dead mother, no one believes her. The only other living soul who sees Cally's mom is a mysterious wolfhound who always seems to be there when her mom appears. So when Cally stops talking how will she convince anyone that her mom is still with them or persuade her dad that the huge silver-gray dog is their last link with her? This story's characters are all very likeable. I really liked the dog and how he seemed to be there exactly when Callie needs him. (Ms. Connie)
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Beautifully written but pretty heavy for most kids.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Fourth and fifth graders will certainly enjoy this award-winning story. "Homeless", a loveable and sometimes mysterious dog helps Cally deal with the death of her mother. This book has 'warm fuzzies' on every page.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5On the anniversary of her mother’s death, Cally Fisher sees a ghost. It’s her mother, clear as day, in her bright red raincoat. From that day on, her mother appears whenever Cally needs her, often accompanied by a very large, and very real, scruffy gray hound.
Unable to deal with his own grief, Cally’s father is silent when it comes to remembering Cally’s mother, which makes Cally’s pain even worse. When she tries to talk to him about her mother appearing to her, he doesn’t want to hear about it. So after a charity event at Cally’s school, when she—the girl most likely to get caught talking in class—is able to go the whole day in silence, Cally decides not to speak at all anymore.
A Dog Called Homeless is a quiet, gentle read that is beautifully written and deeply touching. Cally’s relationships with her family, her friend Sam, a homeless man named Jed, and the mysterious gray dog, will tug at your heartstrings. The end is tender and satisfying. - Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5This book, aimed at the 8-12 market, is a deceptive read. Its title suggests it’s going to be a sweet animal story (not that there’s anything wrong with that) but it’s so much more. It focuses on how Cally and her family are adjusting to life without her mother but with the introduction of other characters shows how important it is to look beneath the surface of people. There are some lovely characters, I particularly liked the sensitive way Cally’s grieving father was portrayed and the friendship developed between Cally and Sam. This is definitely a book I’ll be recommending.
- Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5Sugar coated story with an unsatisfying and unlikely 'happily ever after' ending. In it though is a well worked friendship between the MC Cally and her bestfriend Sam. 2.5 rather than 2.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5“My name is Cally Louise Fisher, and I haven’t spoken for thirty-one days.” So opens the heart-warming A Dog Called Homeless, the debut novel by Sarah Lean, which won the Schneider Family Book Award which honors “an author or illustrator for a book that embodies an artistic expression of the disability experience for child and adolescent audiences”. Not bad for a debut novel. What started out as a fund raiser, get sponsors who think you can stay silent for one whole school day, turned into a 31 day rally for Cally, because once she saw that people treated her no differently, it didn’t seem important to talk. Background: Cally’s mother died in an auto accident a year before. Since then, her father has withdrawn, they’ve had to move into a smaller apartment and her best friend ditched her. She ‘sees’ her mother in various places, the first time at the cemetary on the anniversary of her death, but no one believes her. So, what’s the sense of talking. The second time Cally sees her mom, a big grey wolfhound is with her…except the dog is real. Her downstairs neighbor is Sam, who is totally blind, mostly deaf and has a heart murmer. Sam’s mother teaches Cally how to ‘write on Sam’s hand’, which according to Cally isn’t considered talking. Together, the two tackle the hardships of their particular worlds. As I said at the beginning, A Dog Called Homeless is a heart-warming, charming book that will teach you about what’s important in life, how to deal with the loss of someone close to you and the love of family. I should have seen the ending coming, but I didn’t. It was a great ending, as far as I’m concerned. Cally is a darling of a girl and A Dog Called Homeless is a darling of a book.