Available:*
Library | Call Number | Status |
|---|---|---|
Searching... Dayton Public Library | 636.7538 HEYMAN | Searching... Unknown |
Searching... Salem Main Library | J 636.7538 Dachshund 2003 | Searching... Unknown |
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Summary
Summary
Gretchen, a spunky, lovable dachshund, tells the true story of how she loses the use of her back legs after an accident but triumphs over her disability with the help of a set of wheels. Candid photographs, engaging text, and a scrapbook-style format gives this real-life story an immediate appeal. Gretchen's tale will be inspirational to all as she overcomes her challenge and keeps her friendly, funny personality intact.
Reviews (5)
School Library Journal Review
K-Gr 3-A dachshund tells her story, as she grows from a puppy to dog and finds her place in a loving human family. She leads a contented existence until she suffers a serious spinal injury. This leads to surgery, but Gretchen never regains the use of her back legs. Gradually, the determined canine begins dragging herself around. Her family, recognizing her efforts, orders her a custom-made cart that attaches to her chest and provides a place where most of her posterior weight can rest. With her cart, Gretchen can dig, chase squirrels, and run and play with other dogs. This picture book is designed to look like a scrapbook with crayon-bordered photographs, childlike crayon drawings, and occasional comments in the margins. The design is somewhat sentimental, but the tone is upbeat and positive throughout. The photographs are well chosen and often quite touching, particularly those depicting Gretchen's struggles following her injury. An author's note offers more information on dachshunds, their vulnerability to spinal injuries, and the wheelchair cart. Young readers will welcome this engaging tale of one dog's courage.-Marilyn Taniguchi, Beverly Hills Public Library, CA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
Heyman (Exit from Home) takes a creative approach to addressing a pet's handicap by allowing the dachshund herself to narrate. Readers first meet the star as she is today: "I am Gretchen, the bicycle dog. However, I wasn't born on wheels." Photographs of the narrator as an irresistible, normal pup ("scarcely higher than a blade of grass") follow, and she describes her "curious nature, which got me into some trouble." One day, she hears the family cat give a loud meow, jumps off the bed to see what's going on, and injures her spine. Photographs show Gretchen curled up in sorrow when she loses use of her hind legs ("For a time, I was very sad"). Her human family helps her cope; photos show them rigging up towels on which she can slide along the floor, and also a sling under her hind legs so she can exercise her front ones. Then one day the family presents her with her "very own custom-made, upholstered, padded cart!" With her hind legs through the padded stirrups, Gretchen can go almost everywhere she once went on her own four legs. The upbeat presentation of snapshots, outlined in bright crayon colors, occasionally punctuated with childlike drawings of a bone or a barking dog, and plenty of humor ("Children said I looked like I was riding a bicycle"), let readers know throughout that the story has a happy ending. This tale of determination and optimism may well inspire not only pet owners but children facing their own challenges. Ages 3-7. (Mar.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Horn Book Review
As a young dachshund, GretchenÆs hind legs become paralyzed in a fall. This true story told from Gretchen's point of view, describes how she learns to move again, first by dragging herself around and later with the help of a specially designed cart. The inventive scrapbook-style layout features irregularly cropped color photos, which are by turns amusing, touching, or heartbreaking. From HORN BOOK Fall 2003, (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
A lesson in courage, tenacity, collaboration, and love is often the point of dog stories for children, but this true documentation of one dog's adaptation in the face of a debilitating accident is all the more poignant. Heyman, author of two young-adult novels, incorporates her personal photographs of Gretchen's life and lets the dachshund tell her first-pers . . . er, dog story, and their sometimes grainy, sometimes snap-shot quality enhances the personal connection of storyteller to dog to reader. Anyone who knows dachshunds knows how expressive, warm, and human they can be, like your favorite cat with a wag. They also know how susceptible their long spines are to injury. Gretchen hurt hers in an awkward landing and is shown overcoming depression and learning to get about again, albeit dragging herself on paralyzed back legs. Her loving humans provide her with a bicycle cart and harness and she learns to use it to scoot around outdoors. Life is not the same, but it becomes fun again while she finds new friends and admirers along the way. Thank goodness Heyman had the perspicacity to photograph the transition. Designer Tim Hall finds the perfect upbeat tones with background colors, drawings, and well-cropped snaps with crayon-traced borders. Children discovering Gretchen will not miss the life lessons of accidental injuries and the differences they cause. (Picture book/nonfiction. 4-9) Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
PreS-Gr. 2. Heyman, noted for her young adult novels, switches gears here, offering a picture-book account of hardship, perseverance, and ingenuity. This is no shaggy dog tale, even though Gretchen, the Heyman family's dachshund, tells the story. Abundantly illustrated with family photos, Gretchen's narrative chronicles her busy dog days and the fall resulting in a spinal injury that left her hind legs useless and Gretchen herself scared and confused at her sudden inability to chase squirrels and the family cat. It's fascinating to see how Gretchen adapts to her injury and to the cart-like contraption that allowed her to become more independent. The lessons on coping with challenges extend beyond the story. The last page provides information on dachshunds, a type of dog that tends to have more back problems than other breeds. --Connie Fletcher Copyright 2003 Booklist