Smart Dog - by Vivian Vande Velde (Paperback)

About the Book

A bullied fifth-grade girl befriends a dog named Sherlock who can talk. Soon, Amy finds herself tangled up in dangerous schemes and hanging out with people she never would have before. Thanks to Sherlock, Amys now popular.

Book Synopsis

Amy Prochenko is only in fifth grade, but she already has a sixth grader's problems: She is wildly unpopular, she is the target of prissy Kaitlyn Walker's nastiness, and everyone thinks she and the dweebiest boy in class are an item. Then one day Amy meets Sherlock, a dog on the run from a university lab. Sherlock is not like other dogs: He can talk, he's smarter than most of Amy's classmates--and he needs Amy's help. Suddenly Amy's life is full of danger and excitement, and she finds she is becoming, of all things, popular. Best of all, she finds in Sherlock the sort of friend she's always longed for--the sort of friend she must protect no matter what the cost.

From the Back Cover

Amy Prochenko has spent most of fifth grade avoiding Kaitlyn Walker, a bully whose bark is as bad as her bite, and Sean Gorman, the only kid less popular than Amy Then, as if life isn't hard enough, along comes Sherlock.

After escaping from a research laboratory, all Sherlock wants is to be an ordinary dog. But Sherlock is anything but ordinary: he can talk. And when he asks Amy for help, she says yes.

Amy may have bitten off more than she can chew. Soon she finds herself tangled up in dangerous schemes and hanging out with people she never would have chosen to spend a minute with. For the first time, thanks to Sherlock, Amy is popular!

Even better, she finds the best friend she always wanted. But Amy isn't sure she'll be able to save Sherlock. Will this dog have his day?

Review Quotes

"Sherlock and Amy will have readers cheering for them. The accessible vocabulary, quick-moving plot, and humor make the novel appealing for reluctant readers."--The Horn Book
"Rendered with an abundance of charm and wit."--Publishers Weekly --