Middle grade readers will find themselves in for a fantastic and magical “backyard” adventure when they read Elf Dog and Owl Head by M.T. Anderson (illustrated by Junyi Wu; Candlewick 2023). This novel’s summary threw me off, because it sounded like it would be about a boy dealing with the annoyance of remaining home during the pandemic. Rather, it’s about the rich magical adventures and otherworldly friends a boy can find right in his backyard.
At a time when Clay feels lonesome for friends and he and his sisters can’t seem to stop fighting, they finally find something that will bring them together. It’s only after a magical dog becomes the bridge to other worlds, ones where a world-wide sickness is not an issue but other dangers lurk.
The “elf dog” of the title refers to a young but clever Romanian Elf Hound who has accidentally lost access to her underworld home of the People Under the Mountain. She is a gorgeous figure, with marble white fur and strikingly pointed red ears. She seems a bit out of place on the mountainside until the young boy Clay finds her during one of his wanders through the woods. These boring walks through the woods were one of the only activities available to him ever since the pandemic has begun. But Clay quickly adopts this gorgeous dog as his own after she saves him from something wild. Now he can’t wait to ramble through the woods, where the dog seems to find paths Clay has never before seen. They stumble across magical places, and although Clay doesn’t realize it, his dog is carefully watching the woods in order to keep Clay safe. There is a real danger in the woods that Clay doesn’t realize. The final question is, though, whether the special dog will want to stay with Clay once the danger is passed.
The intermingling of the magical world and the regular world is simply delightful, and the author adds a lot of humor into the book. A sweater sheep, a sleeping moss-covered giant, a village of people with owl heads. Yes, there is a lot of unique magic in this book. Eventually, Clay’s sisters DiRossi and Juniper join him as they discover the magic of the woods. There are scary moments and creatures, but Clay’s determination and his fierce dedication to the elf dog are heart-warming.
Elf Dog and Owl Head is a memorable and well-paced story with a strong sense of scene and character. Although I wasn’t blown away by the novel’s story or writing as a whole, especially as compared to other books I’ve read for the 2023 year, that may be more a representation of my own general preference for realistic fiction. I still wholeheartedly suggest Elf Dog and Owl Head for anyone who loves a magical adventure story and wishes that their own backyard was a menagerie of magical creatures — both for good and ill.
Elf Dog & Owl Head was awarded a Newbery Honor for 2024. I rate it “Really Good” and say “Keep it and read it!”
Newbery rating scale:Â FANTASTICÂ | REALLY GOOD |Â PRETTY GOODÂ | OKAY | BLAH
What to do with this Newbery: KEEP IT AND READ IT | MAYBE IF YOU HAVE TIME | DON’T BOTHER
