Hal’s parents believe he is living the perfect life for a young boy.  His parents are rich beyond belief, they give Hal everything he ever wants; at least they give him every toy or gadget or article of clothing he wants.  More things than he ever needs, more than he ever asks for, in fact.   In reality all Hal really ever wanted was a dog, and maybe a little more attention from his parents.

As his tenth birthday approaches Hal thinks about how many times he has asked for a dog.  His Mother feels that dogs are dirty and smelly.  Dogs need to be walked or they might make a puddle in her very perfect house.  You see there are no bugs and not even a little dust in the house.  And other than Hal, his Mother, his Father and the maids, who only come there to work, there is nothing alive in Hal’s house.  No mice, no bugs, no plants.  There weren’t even live flowers in the yard only raked gravel.  Why you might ask?  Well according to Hal’s Mother "…because flowers mean earth and mess" (page 2).

How do Hal and his dog finally find each other?  In Hal’s town there is a place called Easy Pets where you can rent a dog for any length of time.  Now I don’t think that renting a dog for a weekend is quite what Hal has in mind.  But that’s where our story of One Dog and His Boy begins. 

I’d recommend this book to all animal lovers.  Author Eva Ibbotson died on October 20, 2010, making this her last book.  All of her fans will miss her.  Please read and enjoy her final heart-warming book.