num_pages: 308
description: CRACKER IS ONE OF THE UNITED STATES ARMY'S MOST VALUABLE a German shepherd trained to sniff out bombs, traps, and the enemy. The fate of entire platoons rests on her keen sense of smell. She's a Big Deal, and she likes it that way. Sometimes Cracker remembers when she was younger, and her previous owner would feed her hot dogs and let her sleep in his bed. That was nice, too.Rick Hanski is headed to Vietnam. There, he's going to whip the world and prove to his family and his sergeant -- and everyone else who didn't think he was cut out for war -- wrong. But sometimes Rick can't help but wonder that maybe everyone else is right. Maybe he should have just stayed at home and worked in his dad's hardware store.When Cracker is paired with Rick, she isn't so sure about this new owner. He's going to have to prove himself to her before she's going to prove herself to him. They need to be friends before they can be a team, and they have to be a team if they want to get home alive.Told in part through the uncanny point of view of a German shepherd, Cracker! is an action-packed glimpse into the Vietnam War as seen through the eyes of a dog and her handler. It's an utterly unique powerhouse of a book by the Newbery Medal-winning author of Kira-Kira .
language: English
title: Cracker!: The Best Dog in Vietnam
titlecomplete: Cracker!: The Best Dog in Vietnam
genres: Adventure, Historical, Dogs, Young Adult, War, Middle Grade, Animals, Historical Fiction, Fiction, Realistic Fiction
ratings_count: 6496
awards: awardedAt: 1230796800000
name: South Carolina Book Award
category: Junior Book Award, awardedAt: 1230796800000
name: Vermont Golden Dome Book Award, awardedAt: 1293868800000
name: California Young Readers Medal
category: Middle School/Junior High, awardedAt: 1199174400000
name: Alabama Library Association Children's Book of the Year
category: 4-6, awardedAt: 1262332800000
name: Truman Readers Award, awardedAt: 1262332800000
name: William Allen White Children's Book Award, awardedAt: 1262332800000
name: North Carolina Children's Book Award
publisher: Atheneum Books for Young Readers