No More Dead Dogs

Korman, G. (2000). No more dead dogs. New York: Hyperion Books for Children.

No More Dead Dogs is about a school football hero, Wallace Wallace. He became popular after scoring the winning touchdown in the championship. Besides being a hero, he likes to think of himself as an honest person and when his English teacher, Mr. Fogelman asks him to write a book report about the book Old Shep, My Pal, he refuses to give a positive report. Mr. Fogelman places Wallace in detention for giving such a negative review on the book and requires him to attend the drama club, who is collaborating to produce an adaptation of the book written by Mr. Fogelman. Wallace is not sorry for giving the book a negative review; after all he is tired of stories that end with a dead dog. Embracing his punishment Wallace decides to join the drama club and add some changes to the play. His decision to leave football to join the club leaves fans upset and feeling vengeful. Suddenly, an unknown culprit vandalizes the play set. In the end they find out that it was Dylan a resentful fan who wanted revenge because the play had ruined his famous football hero, Wallace. This book will spark up the interest in students who enjoy a humorous story and who can relate to Wallace in despising stories with dead-dog-endings. I believe this story is original in that it focuses on the viewpoint of one person’s act of disliking a book. The author is able to create a decent plot surrounding the protagonist who desires to remain honest with himself and stands up for what he believes in.