Trevor doesn't worry too much about being short until he is assigned dog-walking duty with Loyola, the tallest person in his class. But the dogs are a wonderful distraction, and even before Trevor and Loyola vow to solve the mystery of a missing spotted dog, they become good friends.
In this standalone prequel to the acclaimed novel The Spotted Dog Last Seen, Jessica Scott Kerrin gives readers another mystery to solve and a lost dog to find.
But does the missing dog even exist?
"What distinguishes Kerrin's middle-grade novels, The Spotted Dog Last Seen and The Missing Dog is Spotted,
is that despite what they are on the surface - stories with sensitive
preadolescence male protagonists, a mystery and a celebration of things
literary - they can also work as guidebooks for children dealing with
loss. The emotional situations that the protagonists face are the human
conditions under which adults stagger: death, guilt and the transitory
nature of all things. Kerrin's novels are about human resilience,
self-acceptance, forgiveness and recognizing the goodness that endures,
even while accepting that loss is inevitable and some losses are
irreplaceable. Treating these themes so honestly and, ultimately,
hopefully for young readers deserves recognition." Aliki Tryphonopoulos,
Canadian Children's Booknews, summer 2015
"Kerrin writes with unusual perception about the emotional lives of young people." Booklist, May 2015
"Funny, absorbing and touching, The Missing Dog is Spotted
resonates with the riches to be found in unexpected friendships and the
importance of connection, however transient it may be." National Reading Campaign
"With a measured pace that allows for character development, the story unfolds in a steady, satisfying way." Booklist
"Trevor is a sweet
character, a little neurotic but ultimately good-natured, the
introverted foil to many of the rambunctious boy characters that
frequent middle-grade novels." National Post
"A poignant companion to the previous volume." School Library Journal
