by Valerie Hobbs
Henry Holt Books for Young Readers, 2011
Maggie is always full of questions. But a young maid in a fine lady’s house isn’t supposed to wonder so much, so one day Maggie is thrown out into the street with only a tiny heart-shaped locket for a keepsake. Who is the lady in the locket? A little dog named Oliver is pushing his nose along an icy sidewalk searching for his lost mistress, or at least something to eat. No matter how hard he looks he can’t find either one, but he does see a girl with round blue eyes and a golden locket around her neck. The girl calls him “Lucky.” And perhaps Lucky is the right name after all, for the little dog soon helps Maggie find a warm, wonderful home of her own—and one for him, too.
*A 2012 Bank Street College Best Children’s Book of the Year *
“This is Victoriana with no steampunk shenanigans and no tongues in cheeks, just well-orchestrated, straightforward storytelling for newish readers–with a bonus of warm pencil drawings reminiscent of Lois Lenski.” ―Horn Book Magazine
“…young fans of old-fashioned hard luck tales that end happily will snap this up.” ―BCCB
“…[an] optimistic ending about survival and friendship.” ―Booklist
“A warm story about friendship, but it’s also an introduction to the treatment of children and animals
in the early 1900s.” ―School Library Journal
“A touching and emotionally satisfying foundling tale.” ―Kirkus Reviews