Cracker! The Best Dog in Vietnam

Kadohata, Cynthia. Cracker! The Best Dog in Vietnam. Atheneum, 2008. ISBN-13: 978-1416906384.

Plot
Venus, a German shepherd was given up by Willie and his family to the army. Now renamed "Cracker", she is assigned to Rick, a new soldier. Together they are to be a dog unit sniffing out traps, enemies and booby traps in the Vietnam War. At first Cracker is reluctant to accept her fate as an army dog, however she eventually grows close to her handler and works to make sure he survives.

Critical Evaluation
Cynthia Kadohata is a talented writer. She has a way of writing flowing narrative and creating very real characters that can relate easily to readers. Readers will enjoy the fast pace and lyrical writing of Kadohata. The book also is interesting, since it explores an overlooked aspect of the Vietnam War.

Reader's Annotation
Cracker is a German shepherd with little to worry about. This is until her family gives her up the U.S. Army. She is then assigned as an army dog with a handler named Rick and together they try to survive the Vietnam War.

About the Author
Cynthia Kadohata is a Japanese American author born in Chicago, Illinois. She studied journalism at the University of Southern California. She started writing after staying with her sister in Boston.

She has written seven books for both young adults and adults. She currently lives in California with her son and dog.

Genre
Fiction

Curriculum
Historical Fiction
Vietnam War

Book Talking Ideas
Did it surprise you to learn of the canine unit during the Vietnam war?
What did you think of the treatment of dogs in the book?
Why do you think Cracker was able to change her perspective of her situation?

Reading Level/Interest Age
12+

Challenge Issues
Violence and deals with war

Challenge Answer
The violence is not the focus of the book and it is not described in great detail. The war is depicted as confusing, and again the violence is not explicitly described.

Why Included in Selected
I was interested how the book covered a little known aspect of the Vietnam War.