PROFESSOR BINGO PRESENTS DAY: HUCK- REVIEW and GIVEAWAY

WELCOME TO
BOOKIN' WITH BINGO'S
"PROFESSOR BINGO
PRESENTS DAY"
I'M EXCITED TO ANNOUNCE THIS TUESDAY'S
"PROFESSOR BINGO PRESENTS DAY"
CHILDREN/YOUNG ADULT BOOK CHOICE IS.....

GIVEAWAY ENDED
HUCK
The Remarkable True Story of How One
Lost Puppy Taught a Family—and a Whole Town
—About Hope and Happy Endings
BY JANET ELDER

ABOUT THE BOOK:

Huck is a page-turning, unforgettable true story of the tenacity of one small dog, the unexpected, extraordinary kindness of strangers, and a family’s devotion to each other.

Michael was four when his relentless campaign for a dog began. At seven he made a PowerPoint presentation, “My Dog,” with headings like “A Childhood Without a Dog is a Sad Thing.” His parents, Janet and Rich, were steadfast; bringing a dog into their fast-paced New York City lives was utterly impractical.

However, on a trip to Italy, a chance happening leads Janet to reconsider, a decision then hastened by a diagnosis of breast cancer. Janet decides the excitement of a new puppy would be the perfect antidote to the strain on the family of months of arduous treatments for her illness. The prospect of a new puppy would be an affirmation of life, a powerful talisman for them all.

On Thanksgiving weekend, soon after the grueling months of treatments are over, Huck, a sweet, mischievous, red-haired, toy poodle joins the family and wins everyone’s heart.

A few months later the family ventures to baseball’s spring training, leaving Huck with Janet’s sister in Ramsey, New Jersey. Barely twenty-four hours into the trip, Janet receives the dreaded phone call: Huck has slipped through the backyard fence and run away.

Broken-hearted and frantic, the family catches the first plane to New Jersey to begin a search for their lost puppy. It is a race against time, for little Huck is now lost in an area entirely unfamiliar to him, facing the threat of bears and coyotes, swamps and freezing temperatures, rain and fast cars.

Moved by the family’s plight, strangers – from school children to townspeople to the police lieutenant – join the search, one that proves to be an unyielding test of determination and faith.

Touching and warm-hearted, Huck is a spirit-lifting story about resilience, the generosity of strangers, and hope.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Janet Elder is a senior editor at The New York Times. She lives in Manhattan with her husband, Richard Pinsky, their son, Michael, and the family dog.





MY REVIEW:

Janet Elder’s HUCK is the heartwarming, stand-up-and-cheer story of how one toy poodle taught a whole group of people about hope. When Janet, her husband Rich, and Michael, their eleven-year-old son, went on vacation to Florida, they were looking for some fun in the sun and some spring training preseason baseball with the Yankees. Sure that their much loved, reddish toy poodle Huck would be fine with Janet’s sister, they were OK leaving him home in New Jersey, with her. When, however, they got a call saying Huck had gotten out and run away, it was the same as if one of them had gotten lost. You see, Huck was more than just their pet.

When Michael was growing up, he wanted a dog so much and his parents had resisted especially since they thought New York City wasn’t conducive to raising a puppy. But as fate often does, with its cruel hand, it struck Janet and when she learned she had breast cancer, she realized that a puppy would be just what Michael, and really all of them, might need. Her hope was that a dog might keep them in a positive frame of mind and validate life while Janet battled the cancer with her husband and son by her side. Far exceeding their expectations, Huck had been there for them and now, with him lost, they raced to be there for him. Lost in a strange area, in woods and with all kinds of hidden dangers, the family knows they face an almost impossible task as they race home.

This true story is extraordinary in that it shows not only how much this family loved their dog but how people can pull together and in time of need, renew our hope in each other. I read this book in one sitting on a good day and it just made it better. I love dogs, as you can tell, and so it made this inspiring little story even more appealing to me. The characters are likable and the personality of Huck is quite evident in the way Janet Elder portrayed him.

GIVEAWAY

THANKS TO JENNIFER AND RANDOM
HOUSE, I HAVE TWO COPIES OF THIS
WONDERFUL BOOK TO GIVE AWAY

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GIVEAWAY ENDS
6 PM, EST, OCTOBER 5!