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Summary
Summary
Someone's been stealing food out of Pokey the beagle's dish. When Pokey sets out to find the thief, he makes a surprising new friend instead. Now Pokey always leaves a little bit of food for Charlie the hamster to snack on. But when Pokey and his family go away for the weekend, Charlie's hungry and makes a big mess scrounging up cupboards for food. Will Charlie be caught in the mousetraps that Mom and Dad set as traps? It's up to Pokey to save the day.
Reviews (4)
School Library Journal Review
K-Gr 2-When the kitchen in their new home is turned topsy-turvy, Mama and Daddy are alerted to the fact that Poky the Beagle is not the only animal residing there. Of course, Poky has already discovered the previous resident, a hamster named Charlie, who has been raiding the dog's bowl. Generous Poky takes pity on the rodent and decides to share his food and to help his new pal avoid traps. A video camera enables the adults to discover the new friendship and to provide a proper place in their home for Charlie. Four simple episodes make this a solid choice for beginning chapter-book readers. The caring canine and his playful, energetic friend are characters whom children can recognize and care about. Simple and colorful cartoon drawings add to the story's charm.-Gloria Koster, West School, New Canaan, CT (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Horn Book Review
When Poky the dog and his humans move into a new house, Poky befriends a hamster left behind by the previous family. The humans, thinking it's a mouse, set traps, but Poky trips them. To find out what's going on, the humans set up a spycam, then offer the hamster a home. Lively illustrations energize the pleasant but quiet story. (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. All rights reserved.
Kirkus Review
A puppy named Poky and a hamster named Charlie are the main characters in this mildly entertaining mid-level easy reader. The story is divided into four short chapters with a small mystery or problem to solve in each. Poky, a beagle puppy, moves to a new house where he befriends a hamster left behind by the previous owners. Poky and Charlie become friends as they roam the house at night, and they get into several mild scrapes keeping Charlie out of mouse traps and provided with food until the resident humans catch the action on videotape. Finally, they adopt Charlie as the second pet of the family, with his own hamster cage and food. The plot isn't terribly inventive, though Poky and Charlie are amusingly innocent in their lack of understanding of household conventions. The overall effort is extended by BjÖrkman's winsome watercolors, with a flowing, loose style and humorous expressions on the animal characters' faces. (Easy reader. 5-7) Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
PreS-Gr. 2. Winsome ink-and-watercolor sketches illustrate this breezy beginning chapter book about an unlikely friendship between pets. Pokey the beagle is puzzled when a mysterious thief begins to pilfer food from his bowl, leaving crumbs around the house. Afraid his owners, Mama and Daddy, will blame him for the mess, Pokey sets out to solve the mystery, and he's astonished when the culprit turns out to be Charlie, a hamster abandoned by the house's previous owners. Pokey and Charlie become dear pals, snacking on Pokey's dog food and laughing together in the evenings. There's a tense chapter when Mama and Daddy sense a rodent in the house and set threatening traps, but after meeting Charlie, they embrace him as a new family member and outfit him with a comfy cage, exercise wheel, and proper hamster chow. Wallace writes in short, simply constructed sentences and uses a brisk, basic vocabulary just right for new readers, and the expressive, color-washed art hums with activity and emotion. A fine entry in the Holiday House Reader series. --Gillian Engberg Copyright 2005 Booklist
