Horn Book Review
A storm brings a pampered Yorkie, Tango, to Prince Edward Island. Determined to get back to Manhattan, Tango receives help from a kindly older woman and an elderly fox, who's mysteriously linked to a runaway girl. Dark scenes among Tango, a local band of feral cats, and a mutant rat are melodramatic, but dog lovers will nonetheless be drawn into the story. (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. All rights reserved.
School Library Journal Review
Gr 4-6-Tango, a Yorkshire Terrier, is sold to a wealthy Manhattan couple and he leads a privileged and pampered life. But everything changes when the pooch is swept off his owners' sailboat during a storm and washes up on Prince Edward Island, Canada, nearly dead. As Tango recovers, he waits for his owners to come get him. As the weeks pass, he gets used to life in the island village with the help of widow, a runaway girl, and a fox. The local feral cats make life difficult for him, but Tango remains focused on getting back home. As time goes by, the main characters find that they have made new connections and their lives have changed forever. All the animals have definite personalities and human emotions in this heart-warming tale. Kimberly Farr narrates Eileen Beha's novel (Bloomsbury, 2009), giving each character a distinct voice. A great listen for animal lovers.-Teresa Wittmann, Westgate Elementary School, Edmonds, WA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
Tango, a Yorkshire terrier, has grown up literally in the lap of luxury, complete with sterling-silver collar and pearl-studded leash. But when his mistress's yacht goes down in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, he washes ashore on Prince Edward Island, sans collar and I.D., where he is mistaken for a rat in a lobster trap. There his fortunes become entwined with three other lonely folk: curmudgeonly widow Augusta, on-the-run orphan McKenna and Beau, an aging fox who has taken a protective interest in McKenna. Complicating the fairly predictable can-all-the-lonely-souls-learn-to-trust-each-other-and-find-happiness plot is Tango's naked desire to return home and the presence of a pack of truly vicious cats and an insane, murderous rat. Debut author Beha does a creditable job creating the two societies, human and animal, and mediating Tango's travels between them; she freshens her story with precisely drawn characterseven Malachi the rat emerges fully fleshed. Tango is a winning protagonist, a noble soul in a diminutive body. Although there are few real surprises, readers will enjoy this beguiling, delicately told tale, which has a heart as big as its hero's. (Fantasy. 8-12) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.