Chad blames his grandfather Jeep and his older sister, Julia, for the death of his dog last fall. Now, as an empty summer yawns before him, Chad still isn't speaking to jeep, he avoids Julia, and he does his best to ignore the rest of the family, especially the new dog, Queenie. But on this quiet Vermont hillside there's no one but family, nothing to fill the long days ahead.
Then a new neighbor, David Burton, moves in down the hill. David is a shaper, a dog trainer who shapes animals' behavior using positive reinforcement. He needs an assistant, and he offers Chad the job. David also has a daughter, Louise beautiful, feisty, a dancer-who's only a year older than Chad. Suddenly Chad's life, which had seemed simple if painful, is terribly, wonderfully, confusingly complicated....
Chad uses Queenie to learn David's techniques-but who is being shaped here, Queenie, or Chad himself? And can Chad's new knowledge help him heal and find a place in his strong-willed, volatile family?
This is one of my all time favorite books. This book is historical fiction about a family that goes through many trials, but they still remain true to themselves. This book has such depth…
Other Information
About our Classroom Library
Learn more about how our classroom library is set up, how we search it, and how we circulate our books.
Wish List
Building a classroom library is hard work! If you're interested in helping, check out what we could use. More Information
about our site
Welcome to mrschrader.com, Mr. Schrader's fifth grade classroom at West Indianola Elementary just north of Topeka, Kansas. Forge onward, my friend, and explore this site to learn more about our classroom and what we are studying. Enjoy, and thanks for coming!