ELVIS AND THE UNDERDOGS

From a fresh new voice in middle-grade fiction comes the hilarious and poignant story of a sickly boy whose life is turned upside down when he gets a therapy dog…who can talk!

Benji Wendell Barnsworth is a small ten-year-old boy with a big personality. Born premature, Benji is sickly, accident prone, and has a tendency to faint—a lot. He is at the hospital so often he even has his own punch-card. That is, until the day Benji wakes up from a particularly bad spell. Concerned for Benji’s health, the doctor offers him two options: wear the world’s ugliest padded helmet, or get a therapy dog. Benji chooses the dog, of course. But when a massive crate arrives at Benji’s house, out walks a two-hundred-pound Newfoundland. And that is not even the strangest thing about the dog. He announces that his name is Parker Elvis Pembroke IV. That is right, this dog can talk! And boy is he bossy. Having a bossy dog can come in handy though. Elvis brings out the dog lover in the most surprising people and shows Benji that making new friends may not be as scary as he once thought. From a fresh new voice comes the hilarious and poignant story about the importance of finding your own pack. Jenny Lee is the writer and producer of the Disney Channel TV show Shake It Up, the number-one rated kids’ show in the country. The author of four humor essay books, this is Jenny’s first book for children. She lives in Los Angeles with her Newfoundland, Doozy.