The Thunder-Pup Author:Janet Hickman Linnie McKay can hardly wait for her tenth birthday. Ten seems much older than nine, and the birthday surprise everyone is whispering about just has to be a dog of her own, the special dog she's wanted all her life. — But in the weeks before Linnie's birthday, everything goes wrong. All the McKays - even Granpop and Linnie's big brother, Garrett ... more »- seem to think their houseguest is wonderful. But as far as Linnie is concerned, eleven year old Darla Gayle Champion is a champion show-off and all around rotten person. When Linnie's fear of thunderstorms makes her digrace herself at the end-of-school program, it's Darla who takes over and saves the show. Darla's even mean to teh puppies Linnie is helping her firend Arnold hide from the dogcatcher.
As her birthday nears, and teh surprise turns out to be not at all what she had expected, Linnie's misery overflows. It takes another thunderstorm - and a fresh look at the changes that come with growing up - to make Linnie realize that Darla may be right when she calls her "lucky Linnie."
Set in 1950 in a small Midwestern town, The Thunder-Pup will delight both those who enjoyed Janet Hickman's previous novel about the McKays, The Stones, and those who are meeting this wonderful family for the first time.« less