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Title details for Hound Dog True by Linda Urban - Available

Hound Dog True

by Linda Urban
Catherine Taber
Audiobook
1 of 1 copy available
Borrow Listen to a sample Listen to a sample
1 of 1 copy available
Custodial Wisdom: Day Two
 
Never use a metal ladder in an electrical storm. Bring an extra garbage can to the cafeteria on Turkey Drummettes day. Fix things before they get too big for fixing. Just one week until school starts.
 
One week until Mattie Breen is the new girl again. One week until she has to introduce herself—to try and make friends. Unless she can convince her uncle Potluck, the school janitor, to take her on as a custodial apprentice. Then she’ll be able to work with him at lunch and recess instead of needing to be with all the other fifth-graders. All she has to do is stick to the custodial wisdom she writes in her notebook.
 
Too bad her notebook doesn’t tell her what to do when that Quincy Sweet keeps popping up out of nowhere. Or how to talk to Mama about things that really matter. Or what to do when her carefully thought-out apprentice plan comes crashing down around her. But maybe everything going wrong can begin to show Mattie what’s right. About sharing a part of herself. About doing one small, brave thing. About making a friend she can trust with her secrets—a friend who is hound dog true.

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    September 27, 2011

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Listen audiobook

      • ISBN: 9780307942463
      • File size: 76977 KB
      • Duration: 02:40:22

  • Languages

    • English

  • Levels

    • ATOS Level: 4.1
    • Lexile® Measure: 710
    • Interest Level: 4-8(MG)
    • Text Difficulty: 3

  • Reviews

    • AudioFile Magazine
      Catherine Taber delivers the tentative intonations of shy fifth-grader Mattie, whose reticence is worsened by her mother's continual moving. Mattie has found her voice in writing. But that outlet ends when she's silenced by a fellow student who reads her journal and embarrasses her in front of others. When Mattie comes to live with her Uncle Potluck, she is shy and afraid. Her uncle is a quirky character who sees his niece's gifts. Taber gives his storytelling voice upbeat cadences and down-home accents. Taber's delivery makes his warm and supportive gestures on Mattie's behalf and her growing trust sound "hound dog true." S.W. (c) AudioFile 2012, Portland, Maine
    • Publisher's Weekly

      Starred review from July 25, 2011
      Urban (A Crooked Kind of Perfect) traces a highly self-conscious child's cautious emergence from her shell in this tender novel about new beginnings and "small brave" acts. Fifth grader Mattie Breen doesn't share her mother's eagerness to pick up stakes whenever "the going gets tough." Mattie hates starting over at unfamiliar schools, but when her mother announces they will be living with Uncle Potluck, Mattie feels hopeful, for once. Uncle Potluck tells funny, larger-than-life storiesâthe kind of stories Mattie likes to write, but is embarrassed to share with others. Mattie hopes that Uncle Potluck will make her his "custodial apprentice" at the school where he works (and which she'll attend) and that this time she'll finally find a "true, tell-your-secrets-to" friend. Urban's understated, borderline naïf narrative gives voice to Mattie's many uncertainties ("Always Mattie has been shy. Always school had made her feel skittish and small") while expressing the quiet yet significant moments in her day-to-day life. Mattie's growing trust of others and her attempts to be "bold and friendly" lead to gratifying rewards for Mattie and poignant moments for readers. Ages 9â12.

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

subjects

Languages

  • English

Levels

  • ATOS Level:4.1
  • Lexile® Measure:710
  • Interest Level:4-8(MG)
  • Text Difficulty:3

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