________________ CM . . . . Volume VII Number 3 . . . . October 6, 2000

cover Strange Neighbors. (Sam, Dog Detective, 3).

Mary Labatt.
Toronto, ON: Kids Can Press, 2000.
110 pp., pbk. & cl., $4.95 (pbk.), $16.95 (cl.).
ISBN 1-55074-603-0 (pbk.), ISBN 1-55074-605-7 (cl.).

Subject Headings:
Dogs-Juvenile fiction.
Detective and mystery stories.

Grades 2 - 4 / Ages 7 - 9.

Review by Lorraine Douglas.

*** /4

excerpt:

All morning Sam sprawled on the sofa while the clock ticked loudly in the empty house. From outside, she heard brackes screech and doors slam.
    Sleepily, she looked over the back of the sofa. A moving van. Big deal, she thought. Who cares if somebody moves in next door to Jennie? She slumped back down. I'm starving and I'm bored.
Sam, the sheepdog detective, stars in her third mystery in this easy to read chapter book series. Sam lives with her owner, 10-year-old Jennie Levinsky, who can understand what Sam is thinking. And that dog knows that something peculiar is going on with their new neighbours. First, the movers drop a crate, and toads hop out in a line to the field. Jennie and her friend Beth think the three sisters who moved in next door are witches because the weather turns ugly, and the girls believe the sisters must have cast a spell. Then the new neighbours begin babysitting the three friends after school, and the friends notice that all the sisters' animals seem to be disappearing. The friends begin to spy on the sisters and, in the end, find out what the women are really doing.
    Cute pencil drawings of Sam, with comic strip bubbles containing his thoughts, highlight each chapter heading. The cover is as bright, attractive and appealing as are the contents of the novel. This new addition to the series is perfect for readers who are looking for a first chapter book as it is both light and humourous and has a touch of the mysterious.

Recommended.

Lorraine Douglas is Youth Services Coordinator at the Winnipeg Public Library.

To comment on this title or this review, send mail to cm@umanitoba.ca.

Copyright © the Manitoba Library Association. Reproduction for personal use is permitted only if this copyright notice is maintained. Any other reproduction is prohibited without permission.

Published by
The Manitoba Library Association
ISSN 1201-9364

TABLE OF CONTENTS FOR THIS ISSUE - October 6, 2000.

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