Status
Available
Call number
Genres
Collection
Publication
New York : Walker and Co., 1997.
Description
Cindy, who has to work all day, fights to keep the small stray dog she finds on the street.
User reviews
LibraryThing member wturnbull06
This is a good example of realistic fiction becasue it has a girl who has a real life problem of wanting a dog but not being able to have one at home.
Characterization: Cindy is a a round character becasue we know a lot about her feelings.
media: colored pencil
Characterization: Cindy is a a round character becasue we know a lot about her feelings.
media: colored pencil
LibraryThing member AbigailAdams26
"If there's one thing Cindy knows, this is no place for a puppy," begins this heartbreaking and heartwarming tale of a girl, a dog, and two communities. Cindy, a young woman with Down Syndrome - something that is never mentioned directly in the book, but made evident through various elements of the
The happy ending to this terribly sad situation feels utterly natural and unforced, and is all the more satisfying for being so! I was tearing up almost as soon as I began reading How Smudge Came, a testament, I think, to the power of Nan Gregory's words, which instantly sucked me in to the story, and placed me squarely in Cindy's shoes. Without fanfare or didactic display, the author makes the reader feel as Cindy does - makes them feel what it must be like to have fewer choices, to always be told what to do, and how to do it. The artwork, done in colored pencil by Ron Lightburn, is perfectly suited to the tale, capturing Cindy's emotional state, in each scene, to perfection, and greatly enhancing their impact, as a result. Highly, highly recommended - to anyone looking for stories featuring characters with Down Syndrome, or for animal tales in general.
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artwork and story (like the fact that Cindy lives in a supervised group home) - desperately wants to keep the rescued puppy, named Smudge by a mostly blind cancer patient at the hospice where she works, but the people in charge of her home insist that he must go to the SPCA. When her attempts to retrieve him from the shelter prove unsuccessful, she is overcome by sadness and anger: "Cindy sits in the park for a long time, but the hurt won't stop. Every time she breathes. If there's one thing Cindy doesn't know, it's how to find that puppy. Crying won't help."The happy ending to this terribly sad situation feels utterly natural and unforced, and is all the more satisfying for being so! I was tearing up almost as soon as I began reading How Smudge Came, a testament, I think, to the power of Nan Gregory's words, which instantly sucked me in to the story, and placed me squarely in Cindy's shoes. Without fanfare or didactic display, the author makes the reader feel as Cindy does - makes them feel what it must be like to have fewer choices, to always be told what to do, and how to do it. The artwork, done in colored pencil by Ron Lightburn, is perfectly suited to the tale, capturing Cindy's emotional state, in each scene, to perfection, and greatly enhancing their impact, as a result. Highly, highly recommended - to anyone looking for stories featuring characters with Down Syndrome, or for animal tales in general.
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LibraryThing member Cheryl_in_CC_NV
Excellent. Serious, but still enjoyable. And very effective. Every child who reads this will be more compassionate to people
w/ disabilities and to stray animals, and will understand something about the value of animal therapy, the need to allow pets into care centers. I teared up.
w/ disabilities and to stray animals, and will understand something about the value of animal therapy, the need to allow pets into care centers. I teared up.
Subjects
Awards
BC and Yukon Book Prizes (Winner — Sheila A. Egoff Children's Literature Prize — 1996)
Mr. Christie's Book Award (1995)
Washington Children's Choice Picture Book Award (Nominee — 1999)
Language
Physical description
28 inches
ISBN
0802775225 / 9780802775221