Rules of the Ruff

Reading Level: 4^th − 5^th Grade

Twelve-year-old Jessie is in for a long summer at her aunt and uncle's house. Her cousin Ann has a snotty new best friend, which leaves Jessie all alone. But Jessie is industrious, and--not content with being ignored all summer--she convinces Wes, a grouchy neighborhood dog walker, to take her on as his apprentice. Sure, dog walking turns out to be harder than she expected, but she has Wes's dog-walking code, the Rules of the Ruff, to guide her, and soon she's wrangling her very own pack. But when a charismatic rival dog walker moves to town, she quickly snatches up most of Wes's business--and Jessie decides she isn't going to take this defeat with her tail between her legs.

Common Sense Media Review

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School Library Journal

Gr 4-6--Twelve-year-old Jessie pesters her way into an apprenticeship with a curmudgeonly dog walker during a summer with her suburban Ohioan family. Her cousin's mean-girl friend and an intriguing boy and his mom (who tries to co-opt clients for her own dog walking service) create additional challenges to merely mastering dog-walking skills. Written in scene-based chapters of uniform lengths and featuring a small cast with distinctive personalities and voices, Jessie's story is a light, predictable read. Jessie loves soccer and Die Hard movies and eschews dresses and romantic comedies. Dogs abound within these pages, but mostly as objects that further the plot as opposed to animals with whom the protagonist develops close relationships. VERDICT Give this to dog lovers or readers seeking a light and breezy summer read.--Rhona Campbell, Georgetown Day School, Washington, DC

Review quotes

"A thoughtful and fast-paced story."—Kirkus Reviews

Heidi Lang

Heidi Lang managed to stumble upon the two best jobs in the world: writing for kids and walking dogs. If she's not out on the trails surrounded by wagging tails and puppy kisses, she's probably hunched over her laptop working on her next book. She lives in northern California with her husband and two adventure-loving dogs, and she is the coauthor of the Mystic Cooking Chronicles and Whispering Pines series, and author of Out of Range. Find her on Twitter @HidLang or visit the website she shares with her writing partner at HeidiandKatiBooks.com.

Kati Bartkowski was originally drawn to illustration before she got swept up in the world of words. Nowadays she's a fan of creating fantastical creatures and feisty heroines in both mediums. If she's not reading, writing, or drawing, she's probably chasing after her high energy little girl. She lives in northern California and is the coauthor of the Mystic Cooking Chronicles and Whispering Pines series. Find her on Twitter @KTBartkowski or visit the website she shares with her writing partner at HeidiandKatiBooks.com.

Classification

Fiction

ISBN-13

9781419731372

Lexile Measure

Guided Reading Level

Publisher

Amulet Books

Publication date

August 14, 2018

Series

BISAC categories

Library of Congress categories

Dogs
Cousins
Summer employment
Dog walking

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