Book Review: Caddie, the Golf Dog (dog, pups, girl, boys, golf)

Caddie, the Golf Dog, by Michael Sampson (Walker & Company, 2002, 32 pages, $16.95, ages 3-8, pre-school to grade 3) 

 “Who Gets the Dog?”

Yes, there is a movie, a fun romantic comedy family one, by this name but the movie is not the subject of this review (see that review here) (watch the trailer here). 

Can a stray dog belong to two families and three kids?

If not, who gets the dog? And, who decides?

Two families “want”* one stray dog, each loving her wildly. Two boys in one, a girl in the other – Jon and Josh, and Jennifer.

Should the dog go to the first family to keep her before she spooked in a storm and ran off, or to the family with only one child, or . . . ? (Could this book** possibly be based on a true story?)

The Story

Diamond runs away because she is frightened in a storm - and finds her way to a golf course where she meets the two boys. Shortly thereafter, there are five little puppies who must find new homes. When four of them are given away, the first family comes to see the left-over pup and finds ‘”their” dog. But who gets the dog and who should decide?

A wonderful story about growing up and making good decisions to solve a problem so everyone, including the dog, lives happily ever after. Read Caddie to see the solution.

* Well, actually, the kids all want the dog but both families say they are too busy. . . .

** Amazingly, yes! And this reviewer simply thought the story was so unique - and possible - that when she read that it really is based on a true story involving the author’s sons, she decided to interview the author. Stay tuned to see if she is successful.

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The astute youngster who plays golf and loves dogs will pick out this book and be in heaven. He/she will also realize that dogs should not be housed in back yards, that three golfers do not share one set of golf clubs, that dogs (even well-mannered dogs) really don’t belong on a golf course especially when they pick up golf balls! And some of the words are written over (under?) the illustrations, making the story hard to decipher in places. Puppies should stay with their litter (and mom) well after they are six weeks old and should be moved into the house, perhaps the kitchen, rather than staying out in the garage. However, we hope that since Caddie is a true story, perhaps the facts occurred well before the book was written (2002) – perhaps in the 80s when dogs were still often backyard dogs and hadn’t yet become members of the family.