Miles, Ellen. Oscar (The Puppy Place #30)April 30th 2013 by Scholastic Paperbacks
Lizzie's aunt asks her to foster Oscar, a schnauzer who is aggressive to other dogs. She works hard to train him, and Oscar does start to get along well with Ginger, the elderly dog that Lizzie walks for Anjali. While Lizzie is preoccupied with Oscar's problems, as well as the fact that Ginger won't last too much longer, her dog walking business that she has with Maria falters, and Maria is forced to seek helped from other girls, including the obnoxious Daphne Drake. Oscar eventually finds his forever home with Anjali, and Lizzie manages to make up with her friend.
Strengths: After reading depressing science fiction, I'd be totally happy to sit down with the entire series of these and do nothing but read them. Great literature? No. But for avid readers in about the 2nd or 3rd grade, these make a great choice, and offer good information about dogs.
Weaknesses: Any series of more than seven books makes me cringe, and I don't know how many school libraries are willing to invest in so many of these. Even my public library has them only in paperback. I imagine they plan for them to have a limited life.
Thanks for reminding me of these. I had a few at my last library and they did well so I should get some for my new library. Problem is, there are SO many series to keep up with! But I'll add this one to my list because I definitely need more good stuff for the younger ones.
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