Book Review: Mouse and His Dog, A Dogtown Book

Mouse and his Dog, A Dogtown Book, by Katherine Applegate and Gennifer Choldenko (Friwel and Friends, 2024, 336pp HB, $17.99, grades 4-6) Read a sample here.

Mouse has his own dog! Sort of. Yippy skippy, anyway!

Dogtown is a fictitious animal shelter that we know of only because of the mice who live there, one of whom tells this story about trying to find homes for the dogs in the shelter.

The Cover Tells it All

The front cover shows Buster and Mouse, and, the wrap-around to the back cover introduces the reader to Stewie and Smokey. Buster is that lovable golden retriever who keeps getting returned to the shelter (but your name goes on The List if it happens more than three times), Mouse lives in the rafters with other mice but manages to also live in the world of Dogtown dogs, Stewie was turned in for being aggressive (but is merely a lovable big oaf) and finally we meet Smokey, short for Smoke Alarm, a robot dog.

Mouse has "adopted" Buster and tries to find a forever home for him, as well as for Stewie and Smokey. Unlike the first book in the shelter series which has several mini-adventures, Mouse and His Dog is one long major adventure that lasts for 336 pages (after a slow start)(but several chapters are only one-pagers).

All readers will smile at the explanations of dog culture to humans and human culture to dogs (and micre) like this one: 

"We walked around looking for [human's name] . . . on a mailbox, on a door, on a ledger. Humans loved putting their names on everything. It's like how dogs and mice pee on our territory." (p. 215)

The Themes*

The young reader will learn about Reading Buddies (similar programs in other shelters) and will experience hope and love and helping others - or trying to. Will Mouse succeed in finding forever homes for his buddies even though he will lose them** to a new family? What a dilemma! "Sometimes humans find their dogs. And sometimes dogs find their humans." (p. 291)

Bonus: Author Applegate has included "8 Tips for Training the Perfect Pup."

*Other books play a role in this one: The Borrowers, The Tale of Despereaux, The Mouse and the Motorcycle, Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH, . . . v

**true love is doing the right thing, even if it hurts. "Your heart is a muscle. It gets stronger the more you use it." (p. 299)