The Dog That Stole Football Plays by Matt Christopher, Daniel Vasconcellos, Bill Ogden Page B

halftime Mike sat on the bench with his head in his hands.
    Mike’s father came over to the bench. “What are you doing?” he asked. “Giving up? If every guy had that attitude, our whole
     country would be in a lousy mess, not only our football team.”

    “But, Dad!” cried Mike. “We’re not getting anywhere! They’re bigger than we are!”
    “So what? Whittle them down to your size,” said his father.

    Mike thought about that a minute. “You’re right, Dad,” he said. “They’re bigger than we are, but if we give them a good fight
     —”
    “You’ll make it look more like a ball game,” said his father.

    Mike leaped off the bench, his heart suddenly filled with new hope.
    “Hey, guys!” he cried. “Let’s give those Tigers a fight the next half! Let’s show them we’re more than small guys! Let’s show
     them we’ve got guts! OK!”
    When the second half started, Mike said to himself,
We’re going to win without Harry. We are. We are.
    They played like a changed team. They ran harder. They tackled better. They blocked. They knocked down passes. Soon they were only one touchdown behind. With
     only three minutes to go, Butch looked to the sidelines andshouted, “Mike, look who just came into the park. Your dog, Harry! Maybe he’ll bring us good luck.”

    Mike’s heart leaped. “Oh, good, he’s well!” he cried. “But we’re doing all right without him.”
    “What?” said Butch, staring at him.
    “We’re not going to depend on Harry anymore, that’s what,” Mike replied. “We’re going to play without his help.”
    Mike sent a message to Harry to keep quiet for the rest of the game and then yelled, “Let’s go, guys!”
    The Jets continued to play tough ball, and scored another touchdown. When the final whistle blew, the game was a tie, 21–21.

    At the hamburger joint, the Jets and the Tigers each bought a big hamburger. But Mike bought an extra.
    “Here,” he said, giving it to Harry. “This is a special award for you.”

    “Special award?” echoed Butch. “What did he do?”
    Mike smiled. “He stayed home when we needed him the most.”
    His teammates looked at him curiously.

    “He’s been talking funny like that through the whole game,” said Butch.
    “So would you,” said Mike, “if you had a dog like Harry. Right, Harry?”
    “Wuff!” said Harry.

When Mike meets Harry the Airedale, Harry looks like any other dog, but then he begins to talk to Mike via mental telepathy.
     Then Harry goes to a football game Mike is playing in, starts overhearing the other team’s plays, and tells Mike all about
     them. With Harry’s help, Mike’s team is sure to win. But is it
really
winning? And can they still go the distance without Harry’s supernatural advice?
    “The writing is brisk, lightly humorous, and well suited in brevity and simplicity for young sports fans.”
    —
Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books
    MATT CHRISTOPHER is the name behind more than seventy-five books for children, including
The Dog That Pitched a No-Hitter,
illustrated by Daniel Vasconcellos.