“Fleabag” by Helen Stephens. (Book Review)

Poor “Fleabag”: a dog with no home and no real name besides this awful moniker given to him by the people in town. The pup of course is longing for an owner to love him and clean him up! One day, a lonely boy named Bob finds company in Fleabag, and vice versa. Soon they become inseparable friends! But when Bob finds out his family is moving away, he tries instead to run away with his furry friend and one night creeps out of bed and outside in the dark to make his getaway. Fleabag knows Bob should not be outside in the dark night without his mom & dad, so he does the right thing and barks to alert them. Bob’s mom and dad are very grateful, but are they thankful enough to Fleabag to take him in as the family dog before they move away?

This is a heartwarming story filled with beautiful, colorful, watercolor with ink illustrations by author/illustrator Helen Stephens. This story line is sure to tug at your heartstrings, particularly if you are the owner (or future owner) of a rescue animal. If you love a great story about dogs, and could use a happy ending (although I do wish the family would have changed his mean nickname to anything but!), be sure to pick up a copy of this great book about the love between a boy and dog.

Title: Fleabag
Author: Helen Stephens
Publisher: Scholastic /Alison Green Books