Pros: The delicate and positive exploration of love and abandonment by an adored father.
Cons: The possibility of a fourth grader publicly clinging to a stuffed animal at school
The Bottom Line: Courage and love, and the affection of a good plush dog, helps nine-year old Sharron face some tough challenges in her life both at home and school.
pestyside's Full Review: Susan Straight - The Friskative Dog
Susan Straight’s book, The Friskative Dog, offers an unusual perspective about a young girl, who at nine, continues to live in the same fantasy world she crossed into at the age of five. Our young heroine, Sharron, supplements her emotions with love for a yellow lab puppy, except this puppy that goes with her to school is a rather large plush, stuffed animal. It’s no wonder classmates ridicule her. This story about love, loss, and friendship is one many children living in dysfunctional or emotionally challenged environments will enjoy.
Sharron idolized her father, like so many young girls, and when she was five he gave her a yellow lab puppy. She embraced it with all the love she could find, enough that in her mind this plush yellow lab became real. Her dad couldn’t give her the real dog he always wanted; instead he gave a stuffed animal. Sharron had a charming way of making up words and rather than being Frisky this lab became Friskative. She took it everywhere and like a real dog she gave this pseudo-pet a leash, collar, and dog tag. It went to school for pet days and show and tell; it became the subject of school projects, and in fourth grade it was the focus of a career report. At nine she was befriended by a woman who trained companion dogs and at that point she knew she also wanted a career with working with dogs.
After all she had already trained this dog. When she carried it to school it would remain quiet in her backpack. She could feel its paw patting her and she sensed its eyes moving and watching her. She would even watch it walk on her bed. She built a fantasy world and the dog appears real in her mind. Like “The Velveteen Rabbit, The rabbit was a stuffed toy, but the little boy who owned him loved him so much that The Velveteen Rabbit turned real. Real meant love.“
At five this demonstration of affection was acceptable, but by the time she was nine Sharron was the subject of a lot of teasing and emotional bullying from classmates. After her father disappeared she needed Friskative around more and although she wasn’t allowed to take it to school, she did. After an unusually difficult day of ridiculing from classmates Friskative disappears, just like dad.
Sharron’s father disappears and she shares her mom’s concerns he might have amnesia unable to return home. They place their lives on hold eventually redefining their “family” with help from the paternal grandmother and a new friend. Sharron grieves that humans don’t have the homing instincts observed in dogs. When Friskative disappears she hopes that her plush pup uses his instincts to return.
Written for eight to ten year old readers, Susan Straight’s easy-to-read chapter book gently explores several childhood issues. I found it a quietly soothing story about hope and patience as well as the ability of a family to survive a painful abandonment. This book serves to remind us of the value of a pet or a favorite toy to a child suffering an emotional crisis. I found myself compelled to question Sharron’s need to cross the line of reality and to remain for so long on the side of fantasy. What was it about her relationship with her dad who was on the road so much that bonded her to this stuffed dog? This book is as easy to overanalyze as it is to read. Readers will find themselves asking similar questions and may find them concerned about a child who has such a strong need to live so deeply in a fantasy world. The story is positive and constructive as we watch Sharron develop coping skills and redefine her understandings of a family. We cheer as she resolves her issues with a couple of emotional bullies at school. While this book appears simple at first, The Friskative Dog reveals multiple levels of awareness that will end up haunting your thoughts.
Previously published in a slightly different format for KidsReads by Patsy Side copyright (c) 2007
This book is my fourth contribution to the Fight Illiteracy W/O. Join Cindy's and Dramastef's Fight Illiteracy W/O! I challenge others in this W/O to see who can submit the most reviews and contribute the most books! What a great idea.
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