Hunchdog of Notre Dame

Adventures of Wishbone #5

by Michael Jan Friedman, Victor Hugo (Original story), Rick Duffield

During a fast-paced roller hockey game in which an awkward boy is humiliated by the other players, Wishbone imagines himself as Quasimodo, the hunchbacked bellringer of Paris's Notre Dame Cathedral, who defeats his enemies and saves the life of a beautiful gypsy.Wishbone the dog sees a boy humiliated in a roller hockey game, and imagines himself as the deformed bell ringer in "The Hunchback of Notre-Dame"

Genres: Childrens, Retellings, Dogs, Middle Grade, Fiction, Animals

139 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1997

About the author

Michael Jan Friedman is an author of more than seventy books of fiction and nonfiction, half of which are in the Star Trek universe. Eleven of his titles have appeared on the New York Times Best Seller list. Friedman has also written for network and cable television and radio, and scripted nearly 200 comic books, including his original DC superhero series, the Darkstars.

Reviews

[Jerry (Rebel With a Massive Media Library) · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a longtime Wishbone fan, I enjoyed this.

[Alex · Rating 5 out of 5]

I want to try and do this thing this year called write reviews for books I've read. However, I don't know that I can give an sort of objective reviews because I read solely for the heck of it and have no desire to expand my already weird mind. Anyway.

A workmate recently told me that she was going to introduce Wishbone to her son and watched a few of the old episodes and deemed it highly inappropriate for children. She probably wouldn't like this retelling then, as with most Wishbone retellings, it sticks pretty close the original in terms of content and doesn't shy too much away form things, such as Frollo's obsessions...

That being said, I love Wishbone retellings and read them all the time as a wee creature and seemed to have survived. But then my parents also let me watch Jaws, the Tim Burton Batman movies, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, and Monty Python's Flying Circus, and the Frugal Gourmet. So, my opinion on what is okay for kids is probably terribly skewed.

I was rather fond of this retelling, but my favourite may still be The Mutt in the Iron Muzzle.

[Mom · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is the most enjoyable version of this story that I've read.

[Jess · Rating 4 out of 5]

Aslike all Wishbones, this one was very cute. The onel one thing that annoyed my about the book and the tv series was the back and forth between the classic novel and the kid's story. The modern day stuff was never intresting to me as a kid! and it's not now. After the first couple chapters I skipped over those parts and just read the classic re-telling.
Wonder if my dog would let me dress him up as Quasimodo for Halloween.

[Meg · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a great and quick read!

[Barb · Rating 5 out of 5]

You have to love Wishbone, and even more as Quas!!. I love any book that gets a kid to read. It's a mixture of Wishbone as Quasimodo inHunchback story, and the other half as Wishbone trying to help a bunch of friends increase a clumsy kid find some success in rollerblade hockey!!

[Carmen K · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another favorite book of my son. He is really enjoying this Wishbone series. I don't even think he fully understands the educational value of being introduced to classic literature, which makes the stories even more enjoyable.

[Chelle · Rating 2 out of 5]

Read it with my 8 year old. Cute.