Cynthia Kadohata,
Cracker! The Best Dog in Vietnam
Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2007.

ages 10 +

Newbery Medal-winner Cynthia Kadohata's new young adult novel, Cracker! The Best Dog in Vietnam, takes us inside the mind of a German shepherd dog and her handler and onto the battlefield of Vietnam. Cracker is a former champion dog, retired early to a cushy life with an adoring Chicago eleven-year-old, Willie. But Willie's family has moved, and the new apartment won't allow dogs. Ads for a new home for Cracker turn up no takers but reveal that the Army needs shepherds as scout dogs.

Cracker knows 90 words, writes Willie in his incessant letters to Rick, the teenage Army volunteer who becomes Cracker's handler. Rick and Cracker get off to a shaky start, but as they grow to trust each other, Cracker rises to every challenge, sniffing out bombs and booby traps and signaling Rick her findings. Their teamwork saves many lives. 

Kadohata takes us through scout dog training, onto a C-37 transport, and into steamy jungles. While the war's violence is vividly rendered, the relationship between dog and handler remains primary. Cracker's feelings and thoughts are endearingly imagined. "Cracker felt worried. Rick seemed unhappy, and her pal Tristie was dead. She sniffed at Tristie. She knew where Tristie had gone. It was to another place. Once, Willie had owned a fish, and it went to another place too. Of course, that was because Cracker had knocked it out of the water with her paw."

The confused feelings of a boy growing up fast are also treated sensitively. "And he thought about … how it all sucked. It really, really sucked. But he also had another crazy feeling. It all sucked, but it was just so damn real. And the fact that it was so damn real made it suck more, but it also made it suck less…This was the biggest stuff that was ever going to happen in his life. And he’d done good."

Cracker makes it home, but only because this story is a work of fiction. The heart-wrenching Vietnam policy of leaving scout dogs behind has changed; now those that survive active service in Iraq are returned to the U.S.

Children will likely find Cracker's story hugely appealing. Parents should be aware that Kadohata's presentation doesn't address the deep controversies of the war and its divisive effect on American society.

Charlotte Richardson
May 2007