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 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. ( )

A dogs life is a great book for realistic fiction because the events are not true and the characters are not real but the story might be similar to what a dog might experience when they are in dog shelters or they are strays. this book is also great for older children because they will be able to empathize with the character in the story and relate back to the real world. ( )

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. ( )

3.5 Stars ( )

This like Scruffy by Jack Stoneley about a stay dog surving. They do have different view points but, are simar in a way. ( )