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2 of 4 copies available
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.
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Creators
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Publisher
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Awards
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Release date
February 20, 2007 -
Formats
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OverDrive Listen audiobook
- ISBN: 9780739354957
- File size: 217271 KB
- Duration: 07:32:38
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Languages
- English
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Levels
- ATOS Level: 4.9
- Lexile® Measure: 730
- Interest Level: 4-8(MG)
- Text Difficulty: 3
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Reviews
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In this fascinating dog story with a twist, Cracker, an intelligent German Shepherd, sadly has to leave his boy, Willie. He is trained and sent to Vietnam, where he and his handler, Rick, search for mines, sniff out enemy locations, and rescue missing soldiers. Despite the quirkiness of telling the story partly through the dog's viewpoint, this production is filled with authentic, gritty details of the realities of war. Kimberly Farr's voice is steady, calm, and reassuring, qualities that are helpful in tempering the emotional intensity and heart-wrenching suspense. Her accents sometimes sound forced, but she brings genuine expression to the main characters, Willie, Rick, and Cracker. And she delivers a terrifically hearty "Woof!" E.S. (c) AudioFile 2007, Portland, Maine -
July 1, 2007
Gr 5-8-Cracker, a large German shepherd, is given up by Willie, her young owner, because the landlord says she's too big to live in the family's apartment. She is given to the Army as part of the military canine program to be trained to sniff out bombs, traps, and the enemy during the Vietnam War. Rick Hanski, 17, is headed to Vietnam to "whip the world." Cracker and Rick are paired up, and the two learn to work together finding traps and saving men's lives. The story by Cynthia Kadohata (Atheneum, 2007) is told from alternating viewpointsRick and Crackerand gives listeners an unconventional look at the war. When Rick and Cracker are separated, listeners feel the urgency as Rick begins a campaign to find his partner. Kimberly Farr does a great job as narrator, giving each character a distinctive voice. A good choice to make students aware of a little-known aspect of military history."Lisa W. Baker, Chocowinity Middle School, NC"Copyright 2007 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
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May 21, 2007
Since winning a Newbery medal for her World War II book, Kira-Kira
, Kadohata has ventured into the muddier world, literally and figuratively, of the Vietnam War (the “American War” to the Vietnamese). Cracker—bred as a show dog, raised as a pet and later trained as a booby-trap-sniffing military canine—is a heroic and sympathetic character. Some of the tale is told from the perspectives of her boy owner, Willie, and her partner/trainer, Rick, but the lion's share is from Cracker's vantage point. Farr narrates the piece with patience and perfect diction. Her calm tone is only broken whenever trauma rears its head, and though there is plenty of tension, overall her Cracker keeps a Zen-like innocence and calm throughout (with an occasional shout of “Wiener!” when a favorite training treat is detected). In the same way that Kadohata avoids discussing the reasons for the conflict, Farr's portrayal of Cracker successfully keeps listeners inside the world of a dog's mind, to great effect. Ages 10-up.
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