How to steal a dog by Barbara O'Conner

Georgina is miserable. After her father leaves the family and her mother loses her apartment, she and her mother and brother are living in their car. In hopes of finding a way to get enough money for her mother to afford the deposit and rent on an apartment, she devises a scheme to steal a dog after seeing a sign requesting a reward for a lost pet. With her little brother, Toby, helping her, they look for a good dog to steal in hopes of getting a reward from its owner. When she finally finds what she thinks is the right dog and goes through with it, she finds that things don't work out the way she planned. Sad and touching, the book does a good job of describing the shame, frustration and other emotions a child would feel in such a situation. How to steal a dog by Barbara O'Conner. Frances Foster Books, 2007.