When a white puppy gets lost in the park, he earnestly assumes that his owner will search for him. Only later, when he joins a well-organized pack of homeless dogs, does he recognize that he has been abandoned. His new friends name him Waggit for his lively tail and train him in the ways of survival. Led by the astute Tazar, the dogs have staked out a secluded tunnel in a place much like Central Park, where they spend their days gathering food, protecting one another, spying on a rougher gang of dogs, and avoiding the "Great Unknown" - the pound. Enhanced by Rayyan's chapter-header drawings,

         Howe's children's-book debut presents a charming, mostly episodic tale complete with endearing characters and a convincing, invented lexicon: humans, for instance, are "Uprights," and winter is the "Long Cold." Though a development that takes Waggit away from the close-knit pack may leave some readers disappointed, the thoughtful questions raised by his decision elevate this gentle fantasy a notch above simpler animal-survival tales.

- ALA Booklist