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How to Steal a Dog: A Novel
How to Steal a Dog: A Novel
How to Steal a Dog: A Novel
Ebook158 pages2 hours

How to Steal a Dog: A Novel

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Half of me was thinking, Georgina, don't do this. Stealing a dog is just plain wrong. The other half of me was thinking, Georgina, you're in a bad fix and you got to do whatever it takes to get yourself out of it.

Georgina Hayes is desperate. Ever since her father left and they were evicted from their apartment, her family has been living in their car. With her mama juggling two jobs and trying to make enough money to find a place to live, Georgina is stuck looking after her younger brother, Toby. And she has her heart set on improving their situation. When Georgina spots a missing-dog poster with a reward of five hundred dollars, the solution to all her problems suddenly seems within reach. All she has to do is "borrow" the right dog and its owners are sure to offer a reward. What happens next is the last thing she expected.

With unmistakable sympathy, Barbara O'Connor tells the story of a young girl struggling to see what's right when everything else seems wrong.

How to Steal a Dog is a 2008 Bank Street - Best Children's Book of the Year. This title has Common Core connections.

LanguageEnglish
Release dateApr 27, 2009
ISBN9780374706791
How to Steal a Dog: A Novel
Author

Barbara O'Connor

Barbara O’Connor was born and raised in Greenville, South Carolina. She has written many award-winning books for children, including the New York Times–bestselling Wish, Wonderland, How to Steal a Dog, Greetings from Nowhere, and Fame and Glory in Freedom, Georgia.

Read more from Barbara O'connor

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Reviews for How to Steal a Dog

Rating: 3.9383260555066077 out of 5 stars
4/5

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  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Great read aloud.
  • Rating: 1 out of 5 stars
    1/5
    Moralistic pap.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    In Barabra O’Conner’s new book, How to Steal a Dog, we meet Georgina Hayes, a regular girl who has just had her whole life turned upside down. First, she tells us her dad walked out on her mom, leaving the family poor. Georgina tells us she, her brother and her mom are then forced out of their apartment and have to live in their car. Georgina has to go to school dirty and tired, something that leaves her very embarrassed. Eventually, her best friend stops hanging out with her. She’s just plain miserable until she comes up with a plan to turn things around. She decides to steal a dog and then return it when a reward sign is posted. Georgina plots out her theft in a notebook, but when she finally goes through with her plan, things don’t go at all how she planned. Her guilt piles up and she learns first impressions are not always right. The book shows how rough money problems and being homeless can be on kids. It also shows how difficult it can be for parents to make ends meet. People who are going through similar problems will find it easy to relate to Georgina’s troubles and her desire to help her family. However, some readers might have a hard time relating to Georgina’s problems and may see her as an unlikable character. She can appear to be judgmental and negative in some parts of the book. Also, some readers may have a hard time rooting for a character that is knowingly doing something that is wrong.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Georgia's life has changed drastically in the last few weeks: her father moved out, they were kicked out of their house, and now they are living in her mother's car all while trying to pretend that things are just as they used to be. They need to find a new place to live, but first they need money and even though her mom is working two jobs there just isn't enough. Inspired by a Lost Dog sign, Georgia creates a "how to" for stealing a dog and then executes the plan in order to get the reward money. What she never expected was getting to know the dog and his owner. I wasn't sure how I was going to feel about this book -- it seemed very sneaky. But I liked how it ended and the true-feeling struggle Georgia had both with herself and the other characters in the book. It also is a good viewpoint with today's tricky economy and the burdens it places on children.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Georgina Hayes desperately needs money. Georgina, her mom, and brother are homeless and live in their car. Georgina sees a poster for a missing dog and gets the idea to steal a dog to collect the reward money. I'd highly recommend reading this book especially if you are a dog-lover. Georgina, the "underdog" struggles to help her family while trying to do the "right thing." This book is recommended for grades 3 and up.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Most adults understand right and wrong. Lying, cheating, stealing - all wrong. But to an adolescent, the answers are not always black and white. Is it okay to lie to avoid a punishment or hurting someone's feelings? Is it okay to cheat if it helps you get ahead? Is it okay to steal if you really, really want something you can't get any other way? In "How to Steal a Dog" by Barbara O'Connor what Georgina Hayes really wants is to stop living with her mom and brother out of a car.She decides on a fairly simple scheme; find a dog belonging to a rich owner, steal it, wait for the reward signs to be posted, return the dog, and collect the money. Stealing is okay in that situation, isn't it? After all, what could go wrong? O'Connor does a fantastic job of creating empathy for Georgina in her homeless state The reader is with Georgina every step of the way while she wrestles with the dilemma of trying to improve her circumstances at the cost of ignoring her moral compass. Be sure to have this available for junior/intermediate students. They'll love it.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    How do you deal with life when your father walks away and your life changes. Suddenly you live in a car with you Mother and brother and you try to sort out your life. Try stealing a dog to get reward to help your Mother out. But you discover the it isn't that simple.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    serious topic, living in car, mother, daughter & son-Toby, father left, Georgina Hayes, problems at school, reward for dog, dog-Willy, Carmella's dog, she helps them, dog disappears from where they are keeping it
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Georginia's family is falling apart and she, her mom and brother are living in their car. Her grades suffer, friendships fall apart. She cooks up a scheme to steal a dog and then collect the reward money to pay rent for an apartment. A quick read.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    *Novel*FictionThis is a heartfelt story of desperation told from the point of view of a little girl who is homeless. After her father left, Georgina, her brother Toby and their mother were left with nothing. Living out of their car, wondering where the next meal would come from and constantly searching for a way “out”, Georgina decides that she has to do something to help her family get money. After seeing a sign for a lost dog, offering a reward of $500, Georgina has an idea. She’ll steal a beloved dog from a wealthy family, return it and collect the reward money. Then she and her family would have enough money to move out of their car and into a real house. What she doesn’t expect is how much she’ll learn about herself and life during her quest.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I liked the folksy tone of this book. The family's homelessness and Georgina's frustrations are realistically depicted, as is her gut-churning guilt at stealing Willy the dog. Georgina is a good kid trying to do the wrong thing for the right reasons, but she's always aware that it's a fine line she's crossing.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    This book was about a young girls journey through life, living out of a car with her mother and brother struggling to get by. She decides one day to steal a dog so she can get a "reward" and pay for a home for her family. However her plan does not seem to go as she expected, and ends up learning a valuable lesson about life.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    This is the story about a little girl named Georgina and her brother Tolby, whose father walked out on them leaving them with nothing but an old car to sleep in. Georgina sees a lost dog/ reward $500. sign and out of desperation Georgina sets out to steal a dog to get enough money for an apartment. Georgina makes a list of how to steal a dog. Her and her brother follow the list but find that it is not as easy as they thought. They finally find what they thought was the perfect dog, one that doesn't bark, bite, the owner has enough money to pay a reward and is truly loved. Once they have the dog they care for it, and love it while waiting for the reward sign to go up. After a couple days of no signs they run into the owner and find that she is not rich at all. They tell the lady, Carmella, that they will help look for the dog. Georgina can't get rid of the nagging feeling she has because she knows how wrong it was to steal the dog and sees how distraught Carmella is without her dog. They meet a homeless man, named Mookie, who is camping out where they have the dog hidden and he really gets Georgina thinking. She asks why is he is homeless and he tells her that we always works, but not always for money, this puzzles Georgina so she asks why work for free and he responds that sometimes somebody needs something more than he does. Goergina still doesn't really understand. Mookie two motto's he shares with her, the first is "sometimes the more you stir the pot, the stinkier it gets" and the other is " the road behind you is often more important than the road in front of you" In the end she figures out what Mookie's motto's really meant and not only returned the dog but owned up to what she did by telling Carmella the truth.I loved this story, it shows that in desperation we often make bad choices but it is never to late to correct them. I think kids of all ages would like this book. It would be great for discussing the choices we make, the consequences, and owning up to both.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    This was a mid-range priced download for $6.99. I was drawn to the book because of the endearing synopsis. (Children's stories have always been a big draw for me - even as a grown up). Georgina, a 12 year old sixth grader, is stuck in a horrible situation, her father up and left her family with nothing but "three roles of quarters and a mayonnaise jar full of wadded-up dollar bills." When Mama can't come up with enough money to pay the rent, Toby and Georgina are forced to live in their "nasty old car". Humiliated with her unkempt appearance and current situation, Georgina tries desperately to keep her predicament a secret. It all comes to a head, though, when her best friend, Luanne discovers she now lives in a car. That is the exact day Georgina decided to steal a dog and devise a plan to help her family. But its not going to be as easy as she thinks!Book Discussion: This story is recommended for readers ages 9-12. I believe it is as advertised, a perfect fit book for boys and girls alike in this age bracket. The author's writing style was very believable. I loved the way her words flowed and she brought the story to life. Geogenia, the main character was very likable. I felt genuinely sorry for her and her family's plight. It even had me nearly convinced that maybe stealing this dog wasn't exactly wrong in this particular case. The author wove a compelling story of how sometimes "bad times can make a person do bad things". Does this make it OK? Should someone be allowed to break the law, if its for a good cause? This book is chalked full of life lessons and would be very thought provoking for any young reader. A delightful "tail", I strongly recommend this book for both young readers and the young at heart!Extra Goodies: Here's a link to the author's website.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    The struggle that this family is going through is easily related to by many of young people today. Showing how the economy has affected many families and the hardships endured by the the children helps people be more sympathetic to the situation.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    A very cute and well written story. O Connor has a wonderful voice, and I can imagine fifth grade students warming to her humor. The book poses an issue of honesty and teaches kids about the importance of doing the right thing, even when its hard, without being preachy. I really enjoyed this one a lot!
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Here we see the plight of the homeless through the eyes of a girl desperate to have a bed of her own. A crisis of conscience would be a spingboard for rich discussion.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    characters and plot could be better developed
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    How To Steal A Dog was an emotional rollercoaster. The characters made you feel like you were right there with them. The sad part was that there was nothing I (the reader) could do. The story was based on a family who became homeless. Little Georgina, her little brother Toby, and her Mother were abandoned by there Father/Husband. They were left with nothing but there old car. Georgina's Mother went from job to job making barely any money. Georgina wanted a house so bad she decided to steal a dog and get a reward for it when she returned it. She found Willy who belonged to Carmella Whitmore. Unfortunately she was not rich and did not have the money for the reward. After a conscience battle with herself she finally admitted to what she had done and learned a great lesson. It was a wonderful story.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    How to Steal a Dog by Barbara O’Connor is a story that is both sad and funny. Georgina Hayes lives with her mom and little brother Toby. It wasn’t so long ago that her dad lived with them too, but he took off suddenly one day, leaving them with not enough money to pay the rent. Now, they are forced to live in their car, while her mom tries to find work and save enough money to get them back into a real home. At school, Georgina covers up the truth of her situation. She tries to keep up, but over time her appearance and grades both get worse. Then, one day, she sees a sign for a lost dog with a reward for $500 and that gives her an idea to steal a dog, hide it and collect her own substantial reward. The perfect solution to their homelessness! Even though she knows it’s wrong, when she finds a cute little dog with personality plus named Willy, she decides that he’s the perfect dog to steal and carry out her plan. Once she has Willy, she’s in over her head and she needs to find a way out!
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Georgina is a desperate young girl who wants more than anything to move out of the car she, her little brother and mother are living in. Georgina narrates this funny, exciting story as she plots, plans, and executes her thoughtful plan to steel a dog in order to receive a reward of $500. Although stealing is wrong, and Georgina knows it is wrong, she pushes her thoughts aside to do what needs to be done. The rules and ideas Georgina keeps in her notebook are witty and easy to relate to, and her words creatively display her values and wisdom about people. Although this story has a depressing setting, homeless and living out of a car, the book's realistic elements are enlightening.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Georgina’s father has left and now she and her mother and little brother are homeless. Her mother ekes out a precarious living working two jobs, but it is not enough to get an apartment. Georgina is desperate to find a way to get enough money to move out of their car and comes upon the idea of stealing a dog and turning the dog into the owner for the reward money. She carefully plots a plan to steal a dog. Of course nothing goes as she has planned. The dog’s owner is not the wildly affluent woman Georgina has thought her to be and the owner is distraught at the loss of her dog. Georgina has to decide to carry out her original plan or to find a way to return the dog to her owner.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    I found this to be a tear-jerker. O'Connor has a knack for depicting extreme poverty. She makes kids think about tough issues and realize that things are not black-and-white. It's an easy enough read, but it also really has something to say.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    This is a good fiction novel for children, to help them open their minds to the struggles other children face. I'd probably use this during a diversity lesson or a moral lesson.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    im a kid and this book it awesome its worth it
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Georgina has a problem -- she and her mother and annoying little brother Toby are living out of their car. Her mom is trying to earn money to get them back into an apartment, but in the mean time, things are hard, they are stressed and angry and hungry and sad. She sees a poster offering a $500 reward for a lost dog and hatches a plan to create a similar opportunity. Very good on the subject of homelessness, including the night terrors of squatting in an abandoned building and the surprisingly kind figures one can meet on the street. Also great on the moral dilemmas of the whole idea. Pretty consequence lite as those things go, but on the whole, a good story.

Book preview

How to Steal a Dog - Barbara O'Connor

1

The day I decided to steal a dog was the same day my best friend, Luanne Godfrey, found out I lived in a car.

I had told Mama she would find out sooner or later, seeing as how she’s so nosy and all. But Mama had rolled her eyes and said, Just get on up there to the bus stop, Georgina, and quit your whining.

So that’s what I did. I stood up there at the bus stop pretending like I still lived in Apartment 3B. I pretended like I didn’t have mustard on my shirt from the day before. I pretended like I hadn’t washed my hair in the bathroom of the Texaco gas station that very morning. And I pretended like my daddy hadn’t just waltzed off and left us with nothing but three rolls of quarters and a mayonnaise jar full of wadded-up dollar bills.

I guess I’m pretty good at pretending.

My brother, Toby, however, is not so good at pretending. When Mama told him to get on up to the bus stop and quit his whining, he cried and carried on like the baby that he is.

What’s wrong with Toby? Luanne asked me when we were standing at the bus stop.

He has an earache, I said, trying as hard as anything to look like my life was just as normal as could be instead of all crazy like it really was.

When I saw Luanne’s eyes narrow and her lips squeeze together, I knew her nosiness was about to irritate me.

Sure enough, she said, Then how come your mama is making him go to school? She kept looking at me with that squinty-eyed look of hers, but I didn’t let on that I was irritated. I just shrugged and hoped she would hush up about Toby.

She did. But then she went and turned her nosy self loose on me.

No offense, Georgina, she said. But you’re starting to look kind of unkempt.

Unkempt? That was her mama talking if I’d ever heard it. Luanne wouldn’t never have said that word unkempt if she hadn’t heard her mama say it first.

And what was I supposed to say to that anyways? Was I supposed to say, Well, for your information, Luanne Godfrey, it’s kinda hard to keep your clothes looking nice when you’ve been sleeping in the backseat of a Chevrolet for a week?

Or maybe I was supposed to say, I know it, Luanne. But my hairbrush got tossed out in that pile of stuff Mr. Deeter left on the sidewalk when he kicked us out of our apartment.

And then Luanne would say, Why’d Mr. Deeter do that?

And I would say, ’Cause three rolls of quarters and a mayonnaise jar full of wadded-up dollar bills doesn’t pay the rent, Luanne.

But I didn’t say anything. I acted like I hadn’t heard that word unkempt. I just climbed on the bus and sat in the sixth seat on the left side with Luanne, like I always did.

I knew Luanne wouldn’t give up, though. I knew she’d keep on till she found out the truth.

What if she wants to come over? I said to Mama. Or what if she looks in the window or something and finds out we don’t live there anymore?

But Mama just flapped her hand at me and closed her eyes to let me know how tired she was from working two jobs. So every day I imagined Luanne peeking in the kitchen window of Apartment 3B. When she did, of course, she wouldn’t see me and Toby and Mama and Daddy eating our dinner and being happy. She’d see some other family. Some happy family that wasn’t all broken up like mine.

And then one day, when we got off the school bus, Luanne went and did the nosiest thing I could imagine. She followed me. I was trying to catch up with Toby ’cause he had grabbed the car key and run on ahead of me, so I didn’t even notice her sneaking along behind me. She followed me all the way past Apartment 3B, across the street, and clear on around the back of Eckerd Drugstore, where our car was parked with laundry hanging out the windows and Toby sitting on a milk crate waiting for me.

If there was ever a time when I wished the earth would open up and swallow me whole, it was when I turned around and saw Luanne looking at me and Toby and that car and all. I could see her thoughts just plain as day right there on her face.

I wanted to wave my hand and make that dented-up car disappear off the face of the earth. But more than anything, I wanted my daddy to come on home and change everything back to the way it was before.

I set a smile on my face and said, It’s just temporary, like Mama had said to me about a hundred times.

Luanne turned red and said, Oh.

When Mama gets paid, we’re moving into our new apartment, I said.

Oh.

And then we both just stood there, looking at our feet. I could feel the distance between us grow and grow until it seemed like Luanne Godfrey, who had been my friend forever, was standing clear on the other side of the universe from me.

Finally, she said, I better go.

But she didn’t. She just stood there and I squeezed my eyes shut and told myself not to look pitiful and, for heaven’s sake, don’t cry.

And then, of course, Toby had to go and make everything worse by saying, Mama left a note that she’s working late, so we’re supposed to eat that macaroni that’s in the cooler.

Luanne arched her eyebrows up and then she said, I haven’t seen your daddy in a long time.

That did it. I couldn’t stop the tears from spilling out of my squeezed-up eyes. I sat down right there in the drugstore parking lot and told Luanne everything.

I felt her arm around me and I heard her saying something, but I was too lost in my misery to do anything but cry. When I was all cried out, I stood up and brushed the dirt off the seat of my pants, pushed the hair out of my eyes, and said, Promise you won’t tell?

Luanne nodded. I promise.

I mean, not even your mama.

Luanne’s eyes flickered for just a second, but then she said, Okay.

I crooked my pinkie finger in the air and waited for her to give me the pinkie promise, but she hesitated.

I stamped my foot and jabbed my pinkie at her. Finally she crooked her pinkie around mine and we shook.

I better go, she said.

I watched her hurry across the parking lot, then glance back at me before disappearing around the corner of the drugstore.

I hate that macaroni, Toby said from his seat on the milk crate. It was just like him to not even give me one little minute to wallow in my misery.

I stomped around to the back of the car and kicked the cooler, sending it toppling over on its side. Ice and water and plastic containers spilled out onto the parking lot.

Me too, I said.

Then I climbed into the backseat of the car and waited for Mama to come back.

It was way past dark when I heard Mama’s shoes click-clacking on the asphalt as she made her way toward the car. I sat up and looked out the window. Even in the dim glow of the streetlights, I could see her tired, sad look. Part of me wanted to stay put and just go on back to sleep and leave her be, but another part of me wanted to get out and have my say, which is what I did.

Mama jumped when I opened the car door.

What in the world are you doing awake, Georgina? she said.

I hate this, I said. I don’t want to do this anymore.

I pushed the car door shut softly so Toby wouldn’t wake up; then I turned back to Mama and said, "You got to do something. You got to find us a place to live. A real place. Not a car."

Mama reached out like she was gonna touch me, so I jerked away. She dropped her hand to her side like it was heavy as cement. Then she let out a whoosh of breath that blew her hair up off her forehead.

I’m trying, she said.

"How are you trying?"

She tossed her purse through the car window into the front seat. I just am, okay, Georgina?

But how?

I’m working two jobs. What else do you want me to do?

Find us a place to live. I stomped away from her and then whirled back around. This is all your fault.

She stormed over and grabbed me by the shoulders.

"It takes money to get a place. She gave me a little shake when she said the word money."

I’m trying to save up, okay? she said.

She let go of me and leaned against the car.

How much money do we need? I said.

She looked up at the sky like the answer was written up there in the stars. Then she shook her head real slow and said, I don’t know, Georgina. A lot, okay?

Like how much?

More than we got.

We both just stood there in the dark and listened to the crickets from the vacant lot next door.

Mama draped her arm around my shoulder, and I laid my head against her and wanted to be a baby again—a baby that just cries and then gets taken care of and that’s all there is to a day.

Finally I asked her the same question I’d asked her about a million times already.

Why did Daddy leave?

I felt her whole body go limp. I wish I knew. She brushed my hair out of my eyes. Just got tired of it all, I reckon, she said.

Tired of what?

The silence between us felt big and dark, like a wall. Then I asked her the question that had been burning a hole in my heart. Tired of me?

Mama took my chin in her hand and looked at me hard. This is not your fault, okay?

She peered inside the car at Toby, all curled up in a ball in the backseat.

We got to go, she said.

Where?

I don’t know. Just somewhere else. The car door creaked when she opened it, sending an echo into the still night air. We’ve been here two nights now, she said. "The cops are liable to run us off if we don’t

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