It's not that Charlotte hates dogs. Or that she wants all of them to disappear off the face of the planet. It's just that she doesn't see why everyone loves them so much. So how did she get stuck taking care of a big, drooling Saint Bernard puppy? Rain or shine, hot or cold, poor Beauregard is left chained in the backyard. No one ever plays with him or checks his food and water bowls, and Charlotte can tell he's sad. So she makes sure he has water, gives him belly rubs—blech!—and feeds him every single day. But it's kind of a pain, and she knows Beauregard deserves better. There's a new girl at school who lives in a huge house—plenty of room there for a big dog. Charlotte has an idea. Now all she needs is a plan. Maybe a lot of plans. How do you rescue your own dog? Charlotte’s father loves a bargain. But his enthusiasms pass quickly, and 11-year-old Charlotte is the only one who remembers to give the St. Bernard he bought food, water, and a belly rub. Charlotte is not a dog person. Beauregard deserves a better home, with a family who loves him and doesn’t leave him outside. Determined to find him one, she works to buy the dog from her father to give to a rescue organization, earning money by helping an elderly neighbor. This gentle, appealing story covers the better part of a school year in which Charlotte not only becomes a dog person but also discovers that people who seem scary at first—Luanne, the silent new girl at school; the 84-year-old Petunia Parker—can become friends. The gradual change in her family, as her baby brother grows and her mother recovers from postpartum depression, is believable, and the small-town West Virginia setting forms a convincing backdrop. Even for certified non–dog lovers, the familiar family and friendship issues and satisfying resolution make this an agreeable read. Grades 4-7. --Kathleen Isaacs “[Kennedy’s] first-person, present-tense voice captures perfectly the emerging moral awareness of young teens as it comes up against the impotence of late childhood. Another fine effort.” - Kirkus Reviews “A sweet, gentle story.” - School Library Journal It's not that Charlotte hates dogs. Or that she wants all of them to disappear off the face of the planet. It's just that she doesn't see why everyone loves them so much. So how did she get stuck taking care of a big, drooling Saint Bernard puppy? Rain or shine, hot or cold, poor Beauregard is left chained in the backyard. No one ever plays with him or checks his food and water bowls, and Charlotte can tell he's sad. So she makes sure he has water, gives him belly rubs—blech!—and feeds him every single day. But it's kind of a pain, and she knows Beauregard deserves better. There's a new girl at school who lives in a huge house—plenty of room there for a big dog. Charlotte has an idea. Now all she needs is a plan. Maybe a lot of plans. How do you rescue your own dog? Marlane Kennedy moved to Circleville, Ohio, at age eleven. She participated in many Pumpkin Show parades as a child, but never tried growing her own giant pumpkin. But after writing Me and the Pumpkin Queen , she planted her own Howard Dill's Atlantic Giant seed and grew a 250-pounder, pictured above, that took fifth prize in her local fair. Marlane Kennedy is also the author of The Dog Days of Charlotte Hayes . She lives in Wooster, Ohio, with her husband and three children.