This was a very well-written story about a heavy subject that didn't feel heavy in the telling. Ivan is a young boy who is abandoned in the years following the collapse of the Soviet Union. He survives due to his relationship with a pack of stray dogs. Just from the synopsis and knowing that this is based on true events, it should feel a lot more bleak but it doesn't. The relationship between Ivan (or Malchik, as he thinks of himself) and the dogs feels like any kind of family relationship - very sweet and loving. It's a great adventure story and one that I quite enjoyed reading (even the sad parts).

After the fall of the Soviet Union, many people lost their health care, pensions, and housing. As many as 2 million children became homeless. Based on the story of Ivan Mishukov, who lived with feral dogs for two years, Bobbie Pyron describes the plight of Russia's street children in haunting detail. Ivan's relationship with the dogs helps all of them survive starvation and cruel winters. The boy and dogs become a family, loving and protecting each other. Part adventure story. Part social commentary. Beautiful and sad.

I want to meet this young man. I want to meet the dogs. This author brought Ivan and his pack into my heart and home.

Booktalk ideas: Ivan was five years old when his life disintegrated. Babushka was dead. His mother was missing. To avoid a beating by his mother's boyfriend, Ivan runs; runs into the city streets. Soon his only friends are a pack of wild dogs. Together they forage for food and protect each other. The city trains become their winter home until the Crow Boy gang makes life too dangerous. Survival will mean finding another home.

Very emotional and extremely well written. Very sad ending, a book hasn't made me cry that hard in a long time. I think I cried throughout the last two chapters.

Based on a true story in 1990's Moscow.

I flew through this book. The writing was realistic and heart-breaking at times. Though it's contemporary fiction, it feels like it could have, and really should have, taken place long ago. Very moving story.

Growing up in Russia, five-year-old Ivan has always had the comfort of his mother and his Babushka Ina. But things begin to change for him after his babushka dies. His mother starts drinking more, going out at night and leaving him alone with his storybooks. Then she brings a man home, a man Ivan wishes would just go away. But he doesn't—and one day Ivan's mother disappears. All Ivan can find of her is a single black button from her beloved red coat.

With his mother gone and nowhere else to go, Ivan finds himself living on the street. There are many homeless children on the streets in Russia after the fall of the Soviet Union. Not all of them are friendly and kind. From day to day, Ivan struggles to survive. He forgets what his mother's face looked like, even though he scours the crowds in the train station every day for a glimpse of her.

It's all Ivan can do just to stay alive, especially during the brutal cold of winter. He's not sure how he'll make it—until one day he happens upon a pack of dogs. They allow him into their warm den and eventually into their family. Ivan loses his grip on his old life as a little boy and becomes one of the pack. They protect each other, feed each other, and keep each other warm.

Amazingly enough, this book is based on a true story. A little boy named Ivan who surrounded himself with dogs instead of people lived on the streets of Russia at one time. If you want to learn more about the world, if you like stories about kids overcoming incredible obstacles, and especially if you love dogs, The Dogs of Winter is the book for you.

Find more of my book recommendations for grades 6-12 at www.read-or-die.com.