Little Klein
Have you ever felt out of place in your own family? Loved a dog? Longed for adventure?
Meet Harold Klein, a boy trying to grow out of his "Little" nickname, the dog who adopts him, and the raucous brothers he follows to the edge of disaster.
Discussion Guide and Activity Sheets
The Buzz
Midwest Booksellers Choice Award
Bank Street College Best Children's Book of the Year
E.B. White Read Aloud finalist
Foreword Magazine Book of the Year Award
Book Sense Pick
Midwest Connections Pick
Capital Times round up of middle grade books perfect for boys
“Little Klein is a lyrical reminder that there never was an easy era for being a Little among the Bigs, or for a dog trying to herd his humans.”- Richard Peck, author of Newbery Award winning A Year Down Yonder
"A perfectly engaging read. Ms. Ylvisaker’s gossip-over-the-back-fence style is a brilliant match with the grand story of a small town boy. She’s created the best dog character since Winn-Dixie, and the supporting cast is rich with people I long for as neighbors. His brothers may steal cigarettes and pies, but it is Harold who steals my heart. In the end, he proves once again it is not the size of the hero but the size of the spirit that matters most. Little Klein joins Desperaux on my list of favorite unlikely literary champions." - Kirby Larson, author of the Newbery Honor-winning Hattie Big Sky
Reviews
"Ylvisaker captures the feeling of summer and boyhood and dog with such ease that you’ll find yourself smelling the dirt road and itching to run through the meadow." Children's Literature Network
"This winning boy-meets-dog story will capture its readers' hearts-middle, junior, and senior high school students alike…wonderfully engaging." VOYA
"A lovely coming-of-age tale filled with humor and pathos and several unexpected twists. . . . The author has created something unique and memorable." Kirkus
"Readers will appreciate the protagonist's growth from the beginning of the novel when he finds his family's coddling both irritating and reassuring to the end, when he insists on being called 'Harold.'" School Library Journal
"If Norman Rockwell wrote fiction, he would likely have written something like this tale of boyish pleasures; the nostalgia is palpable without being cloying, as Ylvisaker's wry sense of humor both conveys and teases period manners and the undeniable charms of rural boyhood." Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books
