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To Night Owl From Dogfish

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Paperback
$8.99 US
| $11.99 CAN
On sale Apr 28, 2020 | 304 Pages | 9780525553243
Age 10 and up | Grade 5 & Up
Reading Level: Lexile 770L
From two extraordinary authors comes a moving, exuberant, laugh-out-loud novel about friendship and family, told entirely in emails and letters.

Avery Bloom, who's bookish, intense, and afraid of many things, particularly deep water, lives in New York City. Bett Devlin, who's fearless, outgoing, and loves all animals as well as the ocean, lives in California. What they have in common is that they are both twelve years old, and are both being raised by single, gay dads.

When their dads fall in love, Bett and Avery are sent, against their will, to the same sleepaway camp. Their dads hope that they will find common ground and become friends--and possibly, one day, even sisters.

But things soon go off the rails for the girls (and for their dads too), and they find themselves on a summer adventure that neither of them could have predicted. Now that they can't imagine life without each other, will Bett and Avery (who sometimes call themselves Night Owl and Dogfish) figure out a way to be a family?
Acclaim for To Night Owl from Dogfish

A New York Time Editor's Choice
A Junior Library Guild 2019 Selection
An Amazon best book of the month for February 2019
#3 on the Indie Next list for spring 2019 for Independent Booksellers
A Publishers Weekly Most Anticipated Children's Book of 2019

"Built on a foundation of absurdity, coincidence and the occasional rather good one-liner, the novel manages the difficult balancing act of using increasingly ridiculous, and often funny, situations to drill home the idea that every close relationship takes hard work, particularly when things start going south." —New York Times

* "This is a convincing and heartwarming look into the experiences of female friendship . . . An imaginative and compelling middle-grade novel depicting modern friendships and modern families." —School Library Journal, starred review

“A sweet and amusing tale that celebrates diversity while reinforcing the power of love and the importance of family.” —Kirkus

“Written entirely in emails and letters, this laugh-out-loud novel showcases the collaborative skills of bestselling authors Sloan (Short) and Wolitzer (Bellzhar) . . . Featuring a dramatic climax and a host of surprising twists, the novel affirms that families conventional and unconventional are families just the same.” —Publishers Weekly

“Even if the target readership eschews email these days, they’ll be hard-pressed not to be laughing out loud at the witty, clever email and letter repartee among the girls, their dads, and the rest of the supporting cast . . . Alternately heartwarming and hilarious.” —Booklist

“The book’s affectionately satirical take on our twelve-year-old heroines and their approaches to life is funny, and the epistolary format is an engaging way into the girls’ personalities and defenses.” —BCCB

“While Bett and Avery’s non-stop comical high jinks prove entertaining, the girls symbolize a broader definition of family and experience real struggles . . . Educators and librarians seeking an interesting novel that promotes diversity and might appeal to reluctant readers will want to add this book to their shelves.” —VOYA
Holly Goldberg Sloan graduated from Wellesley College and spent some time as an advertising copywriter before she began writing family feature films, including Angels in the Outfield and Made in America. She was the first woman to direct a live action film for the Walt Disney Company when she directed (and wrote) The Big Green. She is the author of seven previous novels, including the E.B. White Read-Aloud Honor Book Counting by 7s, the New York Times Bestseller Short, and the New York Times Editors' Choice Pick To Night Owl from Dogfish (cowritten with Meg Wolitzer). The mother of two and grandmother of five, Holly lives in Los Angeles with her husband, Gary Rosen. View titles by Holly Goldberg Sloan
© Nina Subin

Meg Wolitzer is the New York Times–bestselling author of The Interestings, The Uncoupling, The Ten-Year Nap, The Female Persuasion, The Position, The Wife, and Sleepwalking. She is also the author of the young adult novel Belzhar. Wolitzer lives in New York City.

View titles by Meg Wolitzer

Educator Guide for To Night Owl From Dogfish

Classroom-based guides appropriate for schools and colleges provide pre-reading and classroom activities, discussion questions connected to the curriculum, further reading, and resources.

(Please note: the guide displayed here is the most recently uploaded version; while unlikely, any page citation discrepancies between the guide and book is likely due to pagination differences between a book’s different formats.)

About

From two extraordinary authors comes a moving, exuberant, laugh-out-loud novel about friendship and family, told entirely in emails and letters.

Avery Bloom, who's bookish, intense, and afraid of many things, particularly deep water, lives in New York City. Bett Devlin, who's fearless, outgoing, and loves all animals as well as the ocean, lives in California. What they have in common is that they are both twelve years old, and are both being raised by single, gay dads.

When their dads fall in love, Bett and Avery are sent, against their will, to the same sleepaway camp. Their dads hope that they will find common ground and become friends--and possibly, one day, even sisters.

But things soon go off the rails for the girls (and for their dads too), and they find themselves on a summer adventure that neither of them could have predicted. Now that they can't imagine life without each other, will Bett and Avery (who sometimes call themselves Night Owl and Dogfish) figure out a way to be a family?

Reviews

Acclaim for To Night Owl from Dogfish

A New York Time Editor's Choice
A Junior Library Guild 2019 Selection
An Amazon best book of the month for February 2019
#3 on the Indie Next list for spring 2019 for Independent Booksellers
A Publishers Weekly Most Anticipated Children's Book of 2019

"Built on a foundation of absurdity, coincidence and the occasional rather good one-liner, the novel manages the difficult balancing act of using increasingly ridiculous, and often funny, situations to drill home the idea that every close relationship takes hard work, particularly when things start going south." —New York Times

* "This is a convincing and heartwarming look into the experiences of female friendship . . . An imaginative and compelling middle-grade novel depicting modern friendships and modern families." —School Library Journal, starred review

“A sweet and amusing tale that celebrates diversity while reinforcing the power of love and the importance of family.” —Kirkus

“Written entirely in emails and letters, this laugh-out-loud novel showcases the collaborative skills of bestselling authors Sloan (Short) and Wolitzer (Bellzhar) . . . Featuring a dramatic climax and a host of surprising twists, the novel affirms that families conventional and unconventional are families just the same.” —Publishers Weekly

“Even if the target readership eschews email these days, they’ll be hard-pressed not to be laughing out loud at the witty, clever email and letter repartee among the girls, their dads, and the rest of the supporting cast . . . Alternately heartwarming and hilarious.” —Booklist

“The book’s affectionately satirical take on our twelve-year-old heroines and their approaches to life is funny, and the epistolary format is an engaging way into the girls’ personalities and defenses.” —BCCB

“While Bett and Avery’s non-stop comical high jinks prove entertaining, the girls symbolize a broader definition of family and experience real struggles . . . Educators and librarians seeking an interesting novel that promotes diversity and might appeal to reluctant readers will want to add this book to their shelves.” —VOYA

Author

Holly Goldberg Sloan graduated from Wellesley College and spent some time as an advertising copywriter before she began writing family feature films, including Angels in the Outfield and Made in America. She was the first woman to direct a live action film for the Walt Disney Company when she directed (and wrote) The Big Green. She is the author of seven previous novels, including the E.B. White Read-Aloud Honor Book Counting by 7s, the New York Times Bestseller Short, and the New York Times Editors' Choice Pick To Night Owl from Dogfish (cowritten with Meg Wolitzer). The mother of two and grandmother of five, Holly lives in Los Angeles with her husband, Gary Rosen. View titles by Holly Goldberg Sloan
© Nina Subin

Meg Wolitzer is the New York Times–bestselling author of The Interestings, The Uncoupling, The Ten-Year Nap, The Female Persuasion, The Position, The Wife, and Sleepwalking. She is also the author of the young adult novel Belzhar. Wolitzer lives in New York City.

View titles by Meg Wolitzer

Guides

Educator Guide for To Night Owl From Dogfish

Classroom-based guides appropriate for schools and colleges provide pre-reading and classroom activities, discussion questions connected to the curriculum, further reading, and resources.

(Please note: the guide displayed here is the most recently uploaded version; while unlikely, any page citation discrepancies between the guide and book is likely due to pagination differences between a book’s different formats.)