No More Dead Dogs

• Genre: Fiction; middle grade humorous
• Originally Published: 2000
• Reading Level/Interest: Lexile 610L; grades 5-9
• Structure/Length: 21 chapters; approx. 180 pages; approx. 4 hours, 23 minutes on audio
• Protagonist/Central Conflict: Middle schooler Wallace Wallace does not lie, which gets him in trouble when asked to write a book report on Old Shep, My Pal—a book he hates. Wallace’s teacher, Mr. Fogelman, demands that he rewrite the review. When Wallace refuses, Mr. Fogelman forces him to join the school play (a dramatized version of the book he hates) and stop playing football. But when someone starts attacking the play, it’s up to Wallace to save it, even if it means changing the story.

Gordon Korman, Author

• Bio: Born in 1963 in Montreal, Canada; currently lives in New York with his wife and family; holds a BFA from New York University; has written over 80 novels; published his first novel as a freshman in high school
• Other Works: The Toilet Paper Tigers (1993); Son of the Mob (2002); Swindle (2008); Born to Rock (2006); Restart (2017)
• Awards: Young Reader’s Choice Award (2002)

CENTRAL THEMES connected and noted throughout this Teaching Unit:

• Honesty Resolves Conflict
• You Don’t Need to Be the Best to Be Happy
• Forced Adherence Leads to Poor Performance and Resentment