Cracker!: The Best Dog in Vietnam

CRACKER IS ONE OF THE UNITED STATES ARMY'S MOST VALUABLE WEAPONS:

a German shepherd trained to sniff out bombs, traps, and the enemy. The fate of entire platoons rests on her keen sense of smell. She's a Big Deal, and she likes it that way. Sometimes Cracker remembers when she was younger, and her previous owner would feed her hot dogs and let her sleep in his bed. That was nice, too.

Rick Hanski is headed to Vietnam. There, he's going to whip the world and prove to his family and his sergeant -- and everyone else who didn't think he was cut out for war -- wrong. But sometimes Rick can't help but wonder that maybe everyone else is right. Maybe he should have just stayed at home and worked in his dad's hardware store.

When Cracker is paired with Rick, she isn't so sure about this new owner. He's going to have to prove himself to her before she's going to prove herself to him. They need to be friends before they can be a team, and they have to be a team if they want to get home alive.

Told in part through the uncanny point of view of a German shepherd, Cracker is an action-packed glimpse into the Vietnam War as seen through the eyes of a dog and her handler. It's an utterly unique powerhouse of a book by the Newbery Medal-winning author of Kira-Kira.

Author: Cynthia Kadohata
Publisher: Atheneum Books for Young Readers
Published: 02/06/2007
Pages: 320
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 0.86lbs
Size: 8.34h x 6.34w x 1.18d
ISBN: 9781416906377
Audience: Ages 9-12

Accelerated Reader:
Reading Level: 4.9
Point Value: 9
Interest Level: Middle Grade
Quiz #/Name: 110627 / Cracker! the Best Dog in Vietnam


Award: Buckeye Children's Book Award - Winner
Award: William Allen White Childens Book Award - Winner
Award: Alabama Camellia Award - Winner
Award: Cybils - Finalist
Award: Nene Award - Nominee
Award: Massachusetts Children's Book Award - Honor Book
Award: Nene Award - Nominee
Award: Truman Readers Award - Second Place
Award: Parents Choice Award (Spring) (1998-2007) - Winner
Award: Pennsylvania Young Reader's Choice Award - Nominee
Award: Dorothy Canfield Fisher Children's Book Award - Nominee
Award: Grand Canyon Reader Award - Nominee
Award: Sequoyah Book Awards - Nominee
Award: Nevada Young Readers' Award - Nominee
Award: West Virginia Children's Book Award - Nominee
Award: South Carolina Childrens, Junior and Young Adult Book Award - Winner
Award: Iowa Teen Award - Nominee
Award: North Carolina Children's Book Award - Winner
Award: Golden Sower Award - Winner
Award: Nene Award - Nominee
Award: Colorado Children's Book Award - Nominee
Award: Louisiana Young Readers' Choice Award - Nominee
Award: California Young Reader Medal - Winner
Award: Colorado Blue Spruce Award - Nominee


Review Citation(s):
Kirkus Review - Children 12/15/2006 pg. 1270
Publishers Weekly 01/15/2007 pg. 52
School Library Journal 02/01/2007 pg. 120
Horn Book Magazine 03/01/2007 pg. 195
Booklist 02/15/2007 pg. 76
Bulletin of Ctr for Child Bks 04/01/2007 pg. 332
Voice of Youth Advocates 06/01/2007 pg. 144 - Recommended - Better Than Most
Hornbook Guide to Children 07/01/2007 pg. 346 - Superior,Well Above Average

About the Author
Cynthia Kadohata is the author of the Newbery Medal-winning book Kira-Kira, the National Book Award winner The Thing About Luck, the Jane Addams Peace Award and PEN America Award winner Weedflower, Cracker!, Outside Beauty, A Million Shades of Gray, Half a World Away, Checked, A Place to Belong, Saucy, and several critically acclaimed adult novels, including The Floating World. She lives with her dog and hockey-playing son in California. Visit her online at CynthiaKadohata.com.