Review by Booklist Review
When Savannah takes her huge, lumbering Doberman, Luthor, to see a champion dog show, it proves to be an ill-conceived move. Luthor causes a stage to collapse, injuring the three-time national champion, and resulting in a massive lawsuit against Savannah's parents. Fortunately, Griffin Bing, the Man with the Plan, is on hand. Griffin and his friend Ben rescue Luthor from the pound and, unlikely as it seems, turn him into a champion show dog. The plot which combines elements of farce and mystery is entertaining and features the same characters as Korman's three previous Man with the Plan books.--Morning, Todd Copyright 2010 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by School Library Journal Review
Gr 4-7-How will Ben survive a six-week sleepover with 11-yer-old Griffin Bing, the "Man with the Plan?" In the stand-alone fourth book (Scholastic, 2012) in Gordon Korman's series, it all starts when pal Savannah's oversized Doberman, Luthor, wreaks havoc at a mall appearance of dog show bigwig beagle, Electra. The pooch winds up with a bent tail after the disaster and Luthor lands in the pound. But was he really to blame? Operation Doggie Rehab begins. Luthor is sprung from the pound and hidden in Griffin's garage along with all of Mr. Bing's wacky inventions, including the Spritz-o-matic. With the help of high-tech whiz Melissa, Ben and Griffin enlist a formerly renowned dog trainer who is "a few sandwiches short of a picnic" to clear Luthor's name. The plot-driven, fast-paced tale, a combination of mystery and adventure, takes some liberties within the dog show world and in general, but the friends from Cedarville have a mostly fabulous time working together. Narrator Jonathan Todd Ross overlooks some opportunities for dramatic effect, but he does provide a variety of entertaining, easily distinguishable voices for the cast of characters. This amusing and very dog-friendly tale will have younger middle school listeners laughing out loud.-Jane Newschwander, Arlington School District, VT (c) Copyright 2012. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
