Mogie
The Heart of the House (with audio recording)
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- £7.99
Publisher Description
Mogie is a real-life Labradoodle with a special talent: he always knows just what a sick kid needs! Get to know this passionate pup with this story by a Newbery Honoree.
Give that dog a puddle and he’d splash. Give him a whistle and he’d roll over. Give him a rule and he’d break it.
One day a passel of puppies was born. Each puppy was designated for a Very Important Job, like Service Dog, or Search and Rescue Dog, or Groomed for the Show Ring Dog.
Each puppy, that is, except Mogie. Mogie was a ball-chasing, tail-wagging, moon-howling pup. Not the kind of pup for any of those jobs!
But there is a place that is just right for Mogie: a very special house where sick children and their families can stay while they undergo long-term treatment. A place with children who NEED a ball-chasing, tail-wagging, moon-howling pup.
And there’s one little boy in particular who needs Mogie. And Mogie is about to prove he’s the best darn pooch in the passel. Based on a true story, this heartwarming picture book is published in conjunction with the Ronald McDonald House.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
This cheering story is based on a real-life Labradoodle that resides at the Ronald McDonald House in Houston. Though this "ball-chasing, tail-wagging, moon-howling pup" is too frisky to make the grade as a service, search-and-rescue, or show dog, Mogie finds his raison d' tre after wandering into a "very special house in the heart of the Big City." There he befriends Gage, "once a ball-chasing, race-running, back-flipping boy," who is now in a wheelchair. Rosenthal's (Bobo the Sailor Man) loosely drafted illustrations showcase Mogie's devotion to Gage, while Appelt's homey, emphatic tone ("Give that dog a puddle and he'd splash") will ring familiar to readers of The Underneath and The True Blue Scouts of Sugarman Swamp. When Gage, much recovered, leaves for home, Mogie adopts another needy patient. Kids will find the narrator's question, "Who wouldn't love a dog like that?" very easy to answer. A warm tribute to a remarkable dog and to the workers at Ronald McDonald Houses, which will receive a share of proceeds from book sales. Ages 4 8.
