Aces Wild by Erica Perl read by Abigail Revasch

Did you read When Life Gives You OJ?  If not, you might want to start with that book.  Zelly wanted a dog so badly that her Grandpa made her up an imaginary dog from an orange juice gallon plastic container.  She had to take it for walks, feed it, take it outside to do its business, and, in short, prove she could care for a dog.  She did and they found her one at the pound that was just perfect.  Well, other than the fact that he was a puppy...

Random House/Listening Library sent me a copy of this audio book for review (thank you).  It has been published, so check wherever you buy your audio books for a copy.

Zelly named her dog Ace, after her grandfather.  After all, she could call him Grandpa and her grandparents would be traveling.  Then her grandmother died and Grandpa took over their basement.  He also demanded everyone call him Ace.  They had such confusion in the house when someone yelled "Ace!"  Which Ace was in trouble?  Since both Ace's were like a wild card, you couldn't be sure.

Ms. Revasch has a very nice reading voice and can speak Yiddish fluently.  Seeing the words on paper doesn't help me pronounce them, so I really enjoyed this oral read.  She has a small voice she uses for little brother Sam, a raspy old man's voice for Grandpa Ace, Zelly is a bit more soprano than Mom and Dad sounds almost middle-aged.  

This story is about training Ace, the dog.  Grandpa Ace could use some training, too.  He's started dating and it bothers Zelly.  With an embarrassing dog and Grandpa, Zelly has her work cut out for her.

There is discussion at the end of the story on how to train a dog.  It's mostly done with treats and kind words and lots of patience.  If you have a child begging for a dog, this would be a good book for them to listen to.  It shows how much work it is and how things don't go as smoothly as you wish they did.

My animals are part of my family.  They sometimes disappoint me and sometimes need to be retrained, but so does my husband.  That's just life.  Enjoy your pets and enjoy your books, too.

Happy reading.