The Winner's Walk (review)

The rest of Case's family are all winners, but unfortunately he's not: his efforts in the spring talent show go awry, there's a glitch in his science-fair project, and just when he seems to be riding to victory in his class at the horse show, he falls and breaks his arm. The fourth-grader is therefore thrilled when Noah, the stray dog he finds and adopts, proves to be a whiz at agility events, garnering Case the wins he desires as well as the doggy companionship. There's a problem, though: Case's beloved new pet is skilled because he's a highly trained service dog, stolen from the yard of his mistress; while she's been able to find another service dog in the ensuing months, there is a long list of people waiting to receive a dog just like Noah. The book doesn't really pick up interest until Noah appears on the scene, and that's over a third of the way through the pages; there's also some stretching to make the plot work (Noah's training doesn't include agility, yet he's able to run daunting and unfamiliar obstacles successfully the first time out; despite the backlog of people waiting for service dogs, Noah's previous owner is able to get trained and ready with a replacement within only a few months). The story effectively mines the revelation of Noah's ability for entertainment value, however, with Noah amazing Case by helpfully bringing him the ringing phone and tidily putting his own dog dish in the dishwasher. Case's decision to give Noah up is made less purposive and more believable by Case's own physical struggles with his broken arm, which give him a personal understanding of the obstacles even a temporary handicap can create. Yezerski's line-and-wash illustrations are sometimes awkward in their draftsmanship, but their informal realism adds to the book's accessibility. This doesn't have the pure doggy drive that caninophiles would wish for, but it's nonetheless a thoughtful story that may elicit some interesting discussion about fairness and sacrifice.