A Guard Dog Named Honey

by Denise Gosliner Orenstein

Key Features Description When Bean's brother gets arrested for joyriding in a stolen car, Bean is devastated. She's determined to get him out of jail by raising the bail their mom can't afford. She tries everything, from applying for summer jobs, to offering to paint summer mansions. It's at one of those old mansions that she meets a young girl named Phoebe and her giant (and very valuable) guard dog, Honey.Bean quickly hatches her She'll convince Phoebe to sell Honey and let her use some of the cash for bail.But when Honey's sale takes a dangerous turn, Bean is torn between her desire for her brother's freedom and her loyalty to Phoebe and sweet, drooly,... Show More When Bean's brother gets arrested for joyriding in a stolen car, Bean is devastated. She's determined to get him out of jail by raising the bail their mom can't afford. She tries everything, from applying for summer jobs, to offering to paint summer mansions. It's at one of those old mansions that she meets a young girl named Phoebe and her giant (and very valuable) guard dog, Honey.Bean quickly hatches her She'll convince Phoebe to sell Honey and let her use some of the cash for bail.But when Honey's sale takes a dangerous turn, Bean is torn between her desire for her brother's freedom and her loyalty to Phoebe and sweet, drooly, affectionate Honey. Can Bean fight for her family without betraying her new friends? Product Details Item #: NTS858810 9781338588101 Paperback Book 256 5 - 7 Lexile® 980L Guided Reading GR Level U DRA 40 - 50 ACR 6.1 Key Features Item #: NTS858810 9781338588101 Paperback Book 256 5 - 7 Lexile® 980L Guided Reading GR Level U DRA 40 - 50 ACR 6.1

Genres: Realistic Fiction, Middle Grade

Paperback

First published January 1, 2020

About the author

Denise Gosliner Orenstein is a graduate of Bennington College and Brown University. Her career in education includes teaching at American University in Washington, D.C. as well as in bush villages thoughout the state of Alaska. Additionally, she has cooked for for an Alaskan village prison, worked as a PEN prison writing mentor, taught literature classes and assisted in a canine therapy program for inmates. Most recently, as head of a school for children with learning differences, she introduced a curriculum based on two rescued Shetland ponies. Denise is the mother of two daughters and lives in Northampton, MA with her dogs, Luke and Lily.

For more information, please see http://www.answers.com/topic/denise-g...

Reviews

[Melanie Dulaney · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bean has it rough: her dad abandoned the family years ago, her mom works more than she is home and now her big brother is in jail and the $1000 bail money might as well be a million because they don’t have a penny to spare. Then she meets an unusual little girl named Phoebe and her monster-sized mastiff and a plan to get the needed money is formed. If your 9-12 year old readers love realistic fiction with characters who are struggling against the odds, then this book may fit but the bill. I found myself skimming to the end to find out if Willis gets out of jail and to see if Bean and Phoebe can keep Honey the guard dog safe and manage to get the bad guys arrested, but I didn’t love this one. Both families represented are seriously dysfunctional with Bean’s mom stating “it is what it is” repeatedly and obviously suffering from a depression that causes her to avoid even visiting her son in prison and encouraging Bean to just accept the way life if without any effort to make things better. And Phoebe’s rich parents have a pattern of jet-setting everywhere after leaving her with near strangers that seem to change with the seasons. Bean manages to decide for herself that she can make good things happen, but with only a few isolated positive events or people who make the occasional encouraging comment to her, I don’t know how that happened. I want my library’s realistic fiction to be uplifting and encouraging in theme/tone and I just don’t know if this one accomplishes that. Content notes: free of profanity, violence or sexual content of any kind. Thanks for the dARC, Edelweiss.

[Sandy Sopko · Rating 5 out of 5]

I know I should have reservations about this book, criminal activity and bad choices and all, but I loved it. Bean is 11 when her brother is arrested. She and her mom can't make the $1,000 bail, so Bean looks for ways to earn cash. No one will hire a kid like her, but in her search, she finds a new friend, Phoebe, who has a very valuable guard dog, Honey, and a terrible plan comes to mind. Bean advertises Honey on Craigslist and earns the interest of a dogfighting ring. Bean is an interesting character with a vivid voice, not to be undone by Phoebe. Even Phoebe's nanny and Bean's mom and the tiny sheriff are fascinating characters. I loved the ending, too, so bittersweet. So, I thought the plot events might pull my rating down, but I am so sad it is finished and so want to know what happens next to both Bean and Phoebe, this story will stand out for me for a long, long time...

[Brooke Bertram · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book for this first time back in fifth grade and finally got the chance to reread it to my Baba
This book holds such a special place in my art, I think mostly because of the characters. Bean, who learned how to grow up, face her fears, and be courageous all while discovering that you can’t judge a book by its cover. Phoebe, with her fun outfits and sneaky wit, showing such compassion and innocence towards her neighbors, friends, family, and animals. And Honey, sweet sweet Honey, who protects, loves, and guards (haha)
A Guard Dog Named Honey is a beautiful story about finding friendship in hidden places, learning to love people despite their flaws, and be courageous and resilient in your ideas.

[AMY · Rating 1 out of 5]

240 pgs. This is a story about an 11-year old whose brother is arrested. She vows to do whatever she can to get her 17-year old brother out of jail. It is really a middle school level reading level. I only read 2 chapters and that was enough. I would skip this one at the elementary level.

[Sarah Z · Rating 2 out of 5]

Although the text is easy to read, the subject is negative. A young girl manipulates her neighbor in order to bail her teenage brother out of jail. The cover photo is misleading. The dog is a pawn and a form of currency.

[Sheila Johnston · Rating 5 out of 5]

Family Read-aloud

[Amelia · Rating 1 out of 5]

I could not finish this

[Pamela Kramer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I started the middle grade story “A Guard Dog Named Honey” by Denise Gosliner Orenstein predisposed to dislike it. I don’t usually approach books with that attitude, of course, but this one is about a girl who wants to sell a dog for profit in order to raise the bail money to get her brother out of jail. I’m all about the dogs, and if her brother was in jail, I reasoned, no dog should suffer because of his stupidity.

Well, it turns out (minor spoiler) that Orenstein agrees with me. Once you meet Honey, the huge, slobbery Italian Neapolitan mastiff that cost thousands of dollars and was supposed to protect Phoebe, who lived in a huge house on the bluff, you know that no author in his or her right mind would allow anything bad to happen to that sweet, gentle dog.

This is the classic island tale of the townsfolk who live on the island year-round and work for the rich summer folk who grace the island with their presence only in the fair summer months. Bean is the feisty main character. She and her brother grew up on the island, and in fact, they call the mainland “America” as if it were a different country. Their father split when he couldn’t take living on the island anymore, and his loss has a depressing effect on each of the remaining members of the family. Bean’s mom works at the local grocery store, making minimum wage and barely paying the bills for the three of them. They live in a tiny two-bedroom house, and Bean and her 17-year-old brother had shared a room until he was arrested for joyriding. He is now in jail, and because they can’t pay his bail, he’ll be in jail until his trial in a few months.

Bean is determined to pay Willis’ bail and get him out of jail. Her brother is smart — his goal has been to get a scholarship to Harvard because he’s that smart. But we readers know that if he were really that smart, why on earth did he do something to end up in jail? Huh?

So in her search for a way to earn the money she needs, Bean meets Phoebe. Phoebe lives in a huge house with her nanny, a quirky man named Edwin. She also lives with her huge “guard” dog, Honey. While Bean befriends Phoebe in a calculating manner to try to get her parents to hire Bean to paint their house — because it’s not easy being eleven years old and trying to get hired — the two girls become friends. Part of that may be Bean’s plan to sell Honey to earn the money for her brother’s bail, but in the end — well, at least for that summer — they are friends.

But what happens when a big slobbery dog who doesn’t do much still manages to charm you and steal your heart? What happens when your plan goes so badly awry that you are worried about the safety of not only Honey, but other dogs? Do you choose family — or do you do what many might say is the “right” thing, which might not help your brother?

These weighty questions and more will make readers ponder choices and right and wrong. Is it all right to do a wrong in order to make something right?

The story will steal its way into your heart and remain there, snuggled in like a Neapolitan mastiff never could.

Review posted on:
PamelaKramer.com