Till Death Do Us Bark

Till Death Do Us Bark

Till Death Do Us Bark is the punny, third book of the 43 Old Cemetery Road series by Kate and M.Sarah Klise.  Written as a collection of letters, newspaper articles and advertisements (as are other Klise favorites), this book tells the story of a boy who, though trying very hard to be perfect, discovers he is not.  He has to learn to deal with that – he runs away.  Hmmmm, perhaps not the best choice.

The story begins with a dog arriving at Spence Mansion.  Seymour (the trying to be perfect boy) is overjoyed. His adoptive parents, Ignatius B. Grumply and Olive C. Spence, are not — especially when Secret, the dog, begins barking all night long. They have chapters of the book to write and illustrate. With the noise they cannot seem to work, harsh words are said and, also bothersome, Shadow is missing.

Is it possible Secret misses his old companion, the late Noah Breth, whose children are fighting like cats and dogs over their father’s fortune?  Could it be that Secret just wants to be home in his own doghouse?  Or does Secret have a secret that, in the end, will make the entire town of Ghastly sigh with relief?

You’ll have fun reading this series – the story is fun, the word play is funnier, the limericks are good and the characters are the best.

The opening line is a quote from Henry David Thoreau –

“That man is the richest whose pleasures are the cheapest.”

What are your pleasures this summer?