How to Steal a Dog Part 2

      Having a conscious is sometimes a hard thing because you so desperately want to do one thing, but your conscious tells you not too. Georgina had that same conscious when she stole Willy from his owner. She knew she did a bad thing, but really wanted the reward money. Georgina felt even more guilty about stealing Willy when she meets with Willy’s owner, and saw how much she loved Willy. When Georgina thought that she would get reward money, but found out that Willy’s owner was not rich like she thought, was a very sad part of the book. That part of the book was a good lesson for Georgina, and even students, that even though people look like they have a lot of money or even look like they have a good life, does not mean that it is the truth. Georgina had that same situation with the students at her school, she wanted them to think that she still lived in her house, and still had a loving family with a dad, but that was not the truth.    

      I thought that adding in Mookie to the book was great because he was teaching her without actually saying anything. He was like her conscious, and when he started talking about Willy not being at home, you could tell that Georgina was upset about what she had done. Mookie also showed Georgina that even if you do not have a lot, you can still be happy and help others along the way. Even though the book never stated that Mookie fixed Georgina’s mom’s car, you could figure it out from the context clues. Which is something that students should be taught about.  Teachers can use the context clues to help figure out different scenarios in this book and many others.  I also thought it was funny that Mookie would share food with Willy because it was horrible sounding food like liver, but Willy still at the food. Mookie had such a good heart to help Georgina, her mom, and Willy, when he did not have to.

      The one part of the book that I did not like was the way Georgina treated her little brother, Toby. Georgina stated in the book that toby was dumb for being in third grade, but he was actually the smart one. Toby wanted to return Willy from the beginning, he also kept on asking the questions that Georgina never thought about, and questions the reader could be asking.

      This is a great book for students to get an understanding of homelessness, and stealing. It also teaches students to help others even when you do not get the recognition, like when Mookie fixed the car. I hope that students like this book like I did because this book has heart, and great lessons.