A Dogʼs Life: The Autobiography of a Stray

I've read this book around 30 times since elementary school when I first bought it, and I swear its my favourite book ever. This time it was exceptionally hard to read though, especially as it reached the end of the book when Squirrel is getting older. All I could think of was my old dog that I had to have put down over the past summer. I love this book to the moon and back and I only wish more people knew how wonderful, and powerful a book about a stray dog could be.

"Si chinò per accarezzarmi. Fece scorrere la mano lungo la schiena e poi sotto al mento. 'Ogni cane dovrebbe iniziare la giornata con una bella grattatina sotto al mento' dichiarò."

Un libro bellissimo, pensato per bambini ma anche per adulti. Un racconto semplice, romanzato e avventuroso scritto dal punto di vista di una cagnolina randagia, Squirrel, che narra le vicende della sua famiglia e degli amici e nemici cani e umani incontrati nel suo girovagare per città e campagne.
Una storia non strappalacrime o melensa, emozionante al punto giusto e mai noiosa. Un libro veloce che si legge in una sera e che, a parere mio, dovrebbe essere letto a scuola per far capire ai bambini quanto può essere difficile e pauroso essere un cane show more randagio e quanto sia indispensabile il rispetto e l'amore verso gli animali.
Durante la lettura coccolavo la mia cagnolina e immaginavo come fosse la sua vita prima di incontrare me, sicuramente non avventurosa come quella di Squirrel :)
Quanto siamo state fortunate a incontrarci! show less

To quote Yogi Berra, this is exactly the sort of thing you'll like, if you like this sort of thing.
It's hard to imagine any book in which the title serves more accurately as a description of the book as well. This is the autobiography of a dog, from puppyhood to old age. It's in the "Black Beauty" vein, an animal telling the story in first person narration, of all the eventful things that happened in her life.
There were two drawbacks for me. First, the narrator (whose name changes several times during the story depending on who, if anyone, owns her at the moment) tells the entire story, but there's minimal character development. Beyond being generally a "good dog" we don't get any real personality from her. And second, it is, well, a show more dog's life. Plot is loose, big gaps of time are skipped over if nothing much happens during them. As it is, She has a much more eventful life that I suspect the average dog does, going through several owners, and spending most of her life as a stray.
We got her whole life, but I was left wondering what the real point of it was. Did Squirrel (her original name given by her mother) grow and develop as a result of the many changes in her life... well, not really.
Kids who are obsessed with dogs will probably love this book, as my daughter did. But for those looking for strong characters, intriguing interactions between characters, fascinating supporting cast and great plot twists... pass this one over and look elsewhere. show less

Another lovely Scholastic Book Fair find from back in my youth!

Squirrel is a stray dog, and this is her memoir. Her life story is rough and tough but will inspire young readers. When she gets separated from her brother, she must go on an epic adventure to survive.

This book made me so sad as a kid and as an adult. It brings all the feels and will just wreck you. While it is beautifully and well written, it's still very sad to think of the poor stray dogs out there. Ann M. Martin makes this story feel so real, it's honestly really nice. She's super talented!

Overall, this book is a great middle grade read! If you want something touching that is about animals and will pull at your heart strings, this book is for you!

Three out of five stars.

This is Squirrel’s story as told by her.

She and her brother, Bone, were born to a stray female, in a wheelbarrel, in an old shed. Life wasn’t easy, but Squirrel and Bone were too young to know and they had each other.

Time came where Bone became restless and left the shed. Squirrel followed, as Bone was the only family she had. Eventually the two were separated, leaving Squirrel on her own.

The hard times, the friends she makes with other strays, her experiences with other creatures and humans, paints the roughness of the life of a stray. Scavenging for food, finding safe and dry places to sleep, the weather changes through the year and dealing with kind and mean humans while navigating life. Good and bad.

I read a few other books show more about animals’ lives as written by their perspective: “The Art of Racing In The Rain” (Garth Stein), “The Fur Person” (May Sarton), “Dewey – Library Cat” (Vicki Myron), “Homer’s Odyssey” (Gwen Cooper) and this is in that category. I took my time reading it and it has stuck with me just as these other books have.

A good read for animal lovers. show less

As I was reading this book I got the distinct feeling it was written for the average young adult. That however, did not stop the tears from the reality of this story. It was simple but very moving. I will always have a heightened sense toward strays. A definite read for any dog lover.

If I liked dogs, I think I'd have liked this even more. Reads like a classic, like Black Beauty but for dogs (and for younger children). A quick read, with some hard bits (Summer Dog!), but mostly heart-warming.