Nice story of a woman falling in love, first with a pooch then with the man from the pound. But the whole story is told in verse. ( )

A very fun rhyming book that would be great for a read aloud session. ( )

One day, when a lonely woman named Mary realized she needed some company, she went to the pound and adopted a blue basset hound. Of all the dogs, Blue was the only one who was not obedience trained. When they returned home, Blue tracked mud in the house, chewed Mary's robe, and peed in her shoe. Was it all a big mistake adopting Blue? Then the Blue let out a howl and the other dogs from the pound all came running to Mary's home. Soon her house was full of mutts from the pound, who all bowed to their leader, Blue. Then Sam, the trainer, burst in trying to round them all up, but Mary decided to keep them all.
Sam stayed for dinner that night and he and Mary fell in love. Soon they got married and all of the dogs attended the wedding, with Blue being the best man.
This book teaches readers that there are positives to see in everyone. Even Blue, who was said to be the only dog who was not obedient trained, made an impact by training all of the other dogs. Young children will surely enjoy the style of the book as it is written in AA poetry format. It is easy and fun to read. ( )

The main message of this picture book is to try and be accepting and as caring as possible to everyone and eventually everyone will find someone to love.
I wasn’t quite fond of this book because of the language, the plot, and the characters.
Although this book contains many dog names, I was not fond of the language used. There are many parts that feel unorganized with too many details that are not related to the story. Also the usage of dog names became quite confusing to those that know little about dogs and although one would not have to look them up, it did interrupt the flow of the words.
I also wasn’t fond of the plot of this book. The beginning where Mary was lonely and wanted a dog was believable and kept me interested but once she wanted to keep at least 15 dogs, dogs that do not listen, I had a hard time creating a connection with the Mary. Also I had a hard time with Sam, a canine trainer, would let her keep so many and also help her train them. It was a bit much for me to accept for a story that is based off a realistic world.
In addition, I wasn’t very fond of the characters. Originally, I felt bad for Mary, being all alone and wanted to adopt a dog but the farther I got into the book, the harder time I had connecting with Mary or Sam. Although this is a children’s book, they seemed quite plain and had unrealistic reactions to the events that were happening to them. I doubt any person would want to keep roughly 15 dogs after they completely destroyed their house. ( )

31 months - Very cute and funny. ( )

I think that this book was very different. I did not like it because it did not make a lot of sense, to me. ( )

Great rhyming book with clever lyrics. Many dogs to spot and enjoy for all the dog lovers out there. The illustrations were fun to look at. Mary heads to the pound to find companionship and comes home with the perfect hound...which of course is when the fun begins! Cute little romance is store as well. ( )

This is such a good story! The story will introduce children to the idea of adopting dogs instead of buying them. It also shows that with some work the dogs can learn to be good pets. I really liked the love story at the end for Miss Mary and Sam. It was a great way to end a good story. I also really like how it rhymed as that is always entertaining. Finally I really liked how it named all different types of dogs. That would be fun for students to hear the names of dogs they never had before. This was a cute story. ( )

Hound from the Pound is a book for any and all dog lovers. Since most students usually have a family pet, and most of the time it is a dog, this is a great book to read in your classes. It is the story of woman who wants a dog so she goes to the pound to find herself a dog. She picks a hound dog that grounds so loud every dog in the city comes barging into her house. In that time, the man from the dog pound comes running in to find that the woman does not want to give any of the dogs away. He helps her train all the dogs and they fall in love and live happily ever after, with a whole bunch of dogs. A cute story about love and dogs that I think students would really like because it would get them thinking about their own animals and it would definitely excite them. ( )

This is a great story for animal lovers of all ages. The well-written text, as well as the captivating illustrations, provide the reader with a heart-warming and "pawsitively" uplifting tone throughout the book. I absolutely love this book! The plot consists of a lonely woman, named Mary, who is looking for a companion. She decides a four-legged friend would do the trick. She arrives at the pound to adopt a dog, but falls in love with the most mischievous of them all, a Basset Hound named Blue. Unable to turn the others away, she seeks the help of a new friend, the canine trainer named Sam, so that they all can stay and live in her home. The book ends in the happiest of ways, the two friends fall in love, and they all, humans and canines, live happily ever after. ( )

This was another great book we discovered at the library one day. We have been reading it nightly ever since. The illustrations are really good, and I like the rhyming story. Best of all, I love all the dogs and the silly things they do in this book. ( )

In "The Hound from the Pound" Mary takes home a hound named Blue from the pound, against the advice of dog-trainer Sam. Blue is always misbehaving and howls to all of his friends back at the pound. They all come running and soon Mary's house is destroyed and full of dogs. Before long, she becomes attached to the dogs and rather than send them back to the pound, she decides to ask Sam to help her train them. The dogs learn to behave and ultimately become great pets. Mary and Sam fall in love, get married, and live happily ever after. ( )

The Hound from the pound is a picture storybook written by author Jessica Swaim, and illustrated by Jill McElmurry.

When lonely Mary Lynn MacIntosh decides that she wants to adopt a dog, she ends up at the local pound where she falls in love with Blue, an untrained Bassett Hound.

Blue turns out to be the leader of the dogs at the pound, and summoning them with a loud howl, Mary Lynn’s home is suddenly filled with dogs!

Having a soft heart, Mary Lynn can’t stand the thought of taking the dogs back to pound. With the help of Sam, the pound’s dog trainer, Mary finds that even old dogs can learn new tricks, and that they can all live happily ever after.

I thought that this picture book was just wonderful. The pictures were entertaining and adorable, and the story itself, laid out in rhyme, was captivating and funny. This book keeps a person interested with its simple yet well thought out story and its excellent pictures, where there is always something going on in the background. I can definitely recommend this book to children (and adults) of all ages. ( )

Read this to the first grade. It had lots of "wow words" (words that are new to 1st grade vocabulary). It was also funny, so the kids enjoyed it :-) ( )

"Miss Mary Lynn MacIntosh lives in a cozy, too-clean, stone cottage. Feeling doggone lonely, she goes to the pund to pick up a four-legged friend. Her choice is a blue basset...The gouache illustrations are charmingly quaint and puctuated with lots of humor."
School Library Journal, October 2007, page 129.