• Age: 9 to 12
• Grade: 4 to 7
• Reading age: 9 to 12

Brett is president of her school's Unity Club. When a new group home for at-risk youth opens in the neighborhood, Brett becomes friends with Jude, one of the boys who lives at the home.

After a series of acts of vandalism, the community starts demanding that the group home be shut down. Brett doesn't believe that Jude, or any of the other teens, is responsible, but when an elderly woman is seriously injured, Brett begins to have doubts.

This short novel is a high-interest, low-reading level book for middle-grade readers who are building reading skills, want a quick read or say they don’t like to read!

Karen Spafford-Fitz grew up in an old limestone farmhouse near Kingston, Ontario where her early training as a writer involved reading thousands of books. In fact, it was impossible to walk across her bedroom without stubbing a toe on Anne of Green Gables, Little House on the Prairie, Nancy Drew, The Hardy Boys, Trixie Belden, and her father's old Lone Ranger books.

Eager to read more, Karen studied English Language and Literature at Queen's University. She followed that up with a degree in Education and went on to teach elementary and junior high students for eight years. Two daughters and a move across the country later, Karen began creating her own stories for children and teenagers. Dog Walker is her first middle-grade novel.

When Karen is not writing in her Edmonton studio, she is often running with her rambunctious German shepherd, who helps Karen train for her next half marathon. Karen also enjoys speaking to students about the inspiration for her stories, the creative process and the writing life.

Karen Spafford-Fitz's profile page

"This little volume about social activism, volunteering, and social justice portrays in an easy-to-read style a somewhat complex social situation that veers close to politicization but manages to avoid such a simple label."

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"An engaging story about adversity, social responsibility, homelessness, and forgiveness. Tweens and teens will find this book to be very readable and relatable…Highly Recommended."

CM: Canadian Review of Materials