The Summer of Riley

The only thing that saves the dog is luck. Yes, that's a spoiler for the ending, but of course you want to know that the dog doesn't die, so there you go. And the better part of the book is the explorations of everyone's attitudes, perspectives, motivations. Those get pretty nuanced, complex, mostly (though some community members did def. overreact).

The book would have been better though if the situation itself were explored more carefully. I can't believe the choices are put him down or think about maybe sending him to a shelter in the city with a note in his record. Never did they even think that maybe the dog was trying to play with the horse, never did they consider any other options.

And the horse's owner, well, I'm glad she let show more her anger cool, but goodness. I dropped charges on a dog that actually bit me, with only the proviso that the owner fixed the fence. And I only needed a brief conversation with the owner to make that decision, to realize the dog was loved & would be kept from a repeat incident. The horse owner was practically a godmother to the boy; you'd think she'd be more compassionate, not so reactionary. show less

A dog "attacks" a beloved horse, and a community winds up divided over whether the animal needs to be euthanized or not. This book handles very adult issues in a straight-forward, sensitive manner. Discussions from the sanctity of life, our constitutional rights to free speech and the role of the press are all logical possibilities.

Eleven-year-old William has lost a lot in the past two months. His beloved grandpa recently passed away; his father moved out of the house; and William is left to pick up the pieces and deal with these difficult changes. That's when Riley, a large golden Labrador, bounds unexpectedly into his life and becomes his faithful companion. However, when Riley chases the neighbor's prize-winning horse, which is against the town law, William may lose yet another loved one. If William wants to save Riley from being put to sleep, he will have to summon all his courage and determination to win this fight.

OBJECTIVE
Students will explore the art of persuasive writing as a form of response to literature. They will accomplish this learning goal through show more personal reflection, identifying persuasion techniques, and speech writing.

Standard: Writes persuasive compositions.

WARM-UP ACTIVITY
Ask students to write in their journals about the following:

Have you ever tried to persuade someone?
Who were you trying to persuade?
What did you want?
How did you persuade this person?
What was the outcome?
Students should be detailed and explain their responses fully. show less

Shortly after he gets the perfect dog, Riley, eleven-year old William must fight for his dog's life after Riley is taken away because he chases and injures an elderly neighbor's old horse.

William just adopted a dog from the pound and he named him Riley. His family thought Riley would be a good addition to the family due to the sudden passing of his grandfather and his parent’s recent divorce. After only having Riley a few days he attacked the neighbor’s horse and the neighbor is pressing charges. So, the pound is coming to pick up Riley to put him to sleep and William only has a few days to decide how to save Riley.
This book will definitely give the reader sad and happy emotions. This is a good book that children can relate to because many kids have to go through parent’s getting divorced or a loved one passing away.
In the classroom, I would pass out a list of questions such as who were the main characters in show more the story? Also, I would have the students write and tell me what their most favorite part about the book was and the least favorite. show less

A young boy finally gets a dog and then is faced with having to give it up. Strong portrayal of a child facing a hard decision and how to solve problems.

This book is about a 11 year old boy who gets a dog after his grandpa died. Then something happened. He might lose his dog. I am not going to tell you any more but I think you should read this book. I am just letting you know a head of time this book has some really sad parts in this book.