Good Dog, McTavish - (McTavish Stories) by Meg Rosoff (Paperback)

About the Book

A dog with a plan adopts a chaotic family in a wry comedy extolling the virtues of common sense in this launch of the new McTavish Stories series. Illustrations.

Book Synopsis

A dog with a plan adopts a chaotic family in a wry comedy extolling the virtues of common sense.

When Ma Peachey takes up yoga, the rest of the family finds themselves abandoned to chaos: no one cooks dinner, no one picks up the dirty laundry, the children are always late for school, and there is a good deal of squabbling and squalor. Ma may be off finding inner peace, but irritable Pa Peachey, glum Ava, and wannabe girl-charmer Ollie are falling apart. Only Betty, the sensible youngest child, is wise enough to see that this family is in need of rescue. Enter McTavish, a rescue dog who, true to his mission, is ready to teach this family some new tricks. Getting the Peacheys to behave will take work, but if anyone can do it, McTavish can. After all, he's a very good dog -- maybe even a psychological mastermind!

Review Quotes

A perceptive dog rescues a family in crisis with sheer cleverness and humor...Easton's grayscale illustrations in her debut offer a gentle counterpoint, depicting the round-shouldered members of the Peachey family with light skin and straight, dark hair. This book is a good selection for those ready for the next step beyond early readers and will undoubtedly create more children wanting a great dog to join the family.
--Kirkus Reviews

Rosoff plays around with our usual people-centered view of events in this short, amusing book, as it switches back and forth between human and canine perspectives. Twelve distinctive full-page pictures illustrate the story. From the appealing premise to the deftly drawn characters and satisfying conclusion, this early chapter book delivers a very readable story laced with dry humor.
--Booklist

A dog adopted from the local pound sets a family straight in this wryly funny chapter book from acclaimed British author Meg Rosoff. Dog owners know well that dogs are accomplished at getting humans to do their bidding, and Rosoff wrings every last bit of humor from this idea.
--Buffalo News

In Meg Rosoff's droll morality tale 'Good Dog, McTavish', children ages 7-11 will find no ogres to be outwitted, but they will observe in the travails of the Peachey family a great deal of fecklessness and ill humor...Monochrome illustrations by Grace Easton add wry humor to this short, entertaining read.
--The Wall Street Journal

Fetching from start to finish, this novel by Printz Award winner Rosoff (How I Live Now) introduces the Peacheys, a family in disarray, and McTavish, the clever canine who comes to their rescue...McTavish's sorting-out of the Peacheys conveniently serves his own interests (he uses clothes strewn on the floor to make his bed cozier and feigns lack of appetite to get the kids to cook healthy meals for all)--while teaching his new family much-needed lessons with droll flair.
--Publishers Weekly

Brilliant, wise, witty and loads of fun, "Good Dog, McTavish" is pitch-perfect in every way.
--Reading Eagle (from Kendal Rautzhan's "Books to Borrow")

A humorous tale about how a dog can bring a family together using love and a little common sense.
--School Library Journal

About the Author

Meg Rosoff is the author of numerous novels for adults, young adults, and children, including How I Live Now and Jonathan Unleashed, and the coauthor of Beck. She is the winner of the 2016 Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award, the Guardian Children's Fiction Prize, the Michael L. Printz Award, and the Carnegie Medal. Meg Rosoff lives in London.

Grace Easton is a freelance illustrator who spends her days drawing, painting, and telling stories with pictures. This is her first book. Born and raised in England, she now lives in Minneapolis.