Told in alternating poetry and prose, this is a story of kindness and perception, all around the story of a little lost dog.
Neighbors and friends Sam and Katie are intrigued when they see a stray dog, skinny, dirty, and scared in their neighborhood. While reluctant to get too close, they follow it and are indignant when they see the Wilson sisters yell and chase it when it digs in their garden and then the mean twins, Michael and Miranda, throw rocks at it.
Sam and Katie wish they could help the dog, but when it does show up at Sam's house, they end up... painting it with blue paint, from the table, creating a blue daisy on its back. The dog runs away and the kids are immediately guilty. Why did they do something so unkind? They don't really know why.
As Sam and Katie try to apologize to the dog, now called Blue Daisy, they learn more about their neighbors and themselves. With their parents' guidance and example, and a new perspective on what it means to be "good" and "bad" will Blue Daisy find the perfect home in their neighborhood?
There's a rather frustrating hint that the problems between Michael and Miranda and Sam and Katie may be due to faults on both sides during the previous school year, but this is never followed up on. Black and white pencil drawings and full page pictures show a predominantly white, typical suburban neighborhood. The book ends with a brief discussion of prose vs. poetry and the forms used and a recipe for dog biscuits and snickerdoodles.
Verdict: If you have readers who enjoy quiet, simple stories and are willing to read poetry and need more short books for younger middle grade readers, this is a good choice. It would be a good choice for classrooms to read to talk about perceptions of who is "good" or "nice" person and how to make amends when you make a mistake or do something unkind.
ISBN: 9780823444144; Published March 2020 by Margaret G. Ferguson; Borrowed from another library in my consortium
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