A Dog’s Purpose Puppy Tale 3 – Molly’s Story

W. Bruce Cameron's A Dog's Purpose Puppy Tale - Molly's Story is a warm, funny dog story for 8 year olds, told by a puppy who knows exactly which girl is hers.

What happens

Molly starts life in a cardboard box at Jennifer's house. Jennifer fosters stray dogs and finds them homes. Molly spends her first weeks wrestling her brother Rocky and swinging off the long, silky ears of an old dog called Barney (he's not at all sure what to make of it).

Then a girl called CJ comes into the garden with her friend Trent. Molly takes one sniff and decides. This girl is hers, and looking after her is Molly's job.

There's just one problem. CJ's mum hates dogs. So CJ smuggles Molly home and hides her in a den under the basement stairs, with newspapers, a pillow and a lot of whispered "Shhh, Molly!"

Can you keep a puppy secret in your house? Of course not! Molly doesn't understand the game at all. As far as she's concerned, when she wants CJ she barks, and CJ comes running. It's very funny watching her get it all slightly wrong. She barks at a dog in the mirror and chews up one of her mum's shoes, and then comes the night CJ convinces her mum that the barking in the basement is a fox.

Being inside Molly's head is the best part. She notices everything by smell. She misunderstands most of what the humans say. But she's completely right about the important things, like when her girl is sad.

That's worth talking about with your reader, because CJ often is sad. Her mum is off on a trip for days and leaves CJ on her own. She says unkind things about CJ's legs, and she cares a lot about her new fur coat. It's never spelled out in a heavy way. It's all seen through Molly's eyes, so a younger reader might just feel something isn't right while an older one will understand more.

If your reader has been through a hard patch at home, this could stir up some feelings. For most dog-mad children it will simply be a lovely story about a puppy and a girl who need each other.

What to read next

If they fall for Molly, try Toby's Story next. Toby starts out in a pen full of brothers and sisters, and some very puzzling chickens, and he tells his own story in the same doggy voice.