Salvador Alva - Come Back Home, Sugar Bear

Come Back Home, Sugar Bear
The story of a dog lost, and a spoiled little girl's love


By Salvador Alva



Kindle Edition Available 




Product Description (from Amazon) 

Publication Date: January 27, 2012
When nine year old Lisa's mother brings home a chihuahua, she is not pleased about it.

With the dog getting all of the attention and her older brother happy, she does everything in her power to get rid of it.

The only thing she cares about is her herself.

Eventually, and over time, the little girls love for the dog becomes so strong, that being separated breaks the little girls heart.

Will she ever find him again?

A warm and loving story coupled with a beautiful life lesson.


About the Author (from Amazon)

No Author Description  Available



O.Scarlett! REVIEW by Rachel


This story is written for young children, so it is simple with very little plot or character development – of course, it’s hard to do much in a book you can read in 10 minutes.  It is engaging enough that any child who loves dogs should enjoy the book.

Their are two 9 year old little girls, I’m not sure what the first girl’s name is ... as I’ve combed the story and cannot find it.  But the second one is Wendy.  And there is Sugar Bear – the tiny dog.

As I am pretty sure that no 5 – 7 year old children are going to be reading this blog to find a book ... I’ll not worry about spoilers ... the basic story line goes like this ...

Mom brings home the little dog, and her spoiled little girl hates the dog, kicks him, screams at him, and is mad because she is no longer the center of all the attention.  One night she has a bad dream, slams the door on the dog and then is worried that she has hurt it.  Mom puts them both in the bed with her while Dad sleeps on the couch ... things begin changing between the girl and the dog.  Later, at her 10th birthday party at the park, Sugar Bear is lost.  A lady finds the dog, and gives her to Wendy.  Months pass before they find the owners, but in returning the dog, the girl and Wendy become best friends.

There is a LOT more to the story ...  as it is around 25 pages long without pictures.  It is actually quite an entertaining little story.

I suppose it is (will be) a cute and enduring story to most people, and most children will enjoy it and read it again and again.

But this is not a story that my family will be keeping.  I found the little girl’s attitude to be quite shocking, especially the way she bossed around her parents and felt that their job was to make her happy.  It wasn’t until the dog showed her attention that she decided to like it.  It gave her undivided attention.  The one thing I DID like, was that the little girl Wendy was not a popular child, but the first girl noticed that she was sad and invited her to play and share the dog.  This was the only glimpse that I saw of the girl thinking of anyone other than herself.  She did miss Sugar Bear as well, but I was unsure whether she missed the dog or the attention that the dog gave to her.  I do understand that most parents or adults do not feel the same way I do about this subject.

Now, if a bratty little girl amuses you, you will probably love this book.  The writing style is simple and clean, easy to follow, and emotional.   It is well written and cute, and who can resist a tiny little dog?

Ms. Alva has some definite talent for writing a simple, clean cut, and easy to follow for the early readers that is sure to find captivating and enjoyable.


Genre/Theme:   Children, Pets – Dog,  Bedtime Story, Lost/ Found Pet
Reading Level: CHILD - children's literature   -  Ages 4 and up  to listen – 2nd grade reading level
Profanity:  LOW - few mildly offensive words  -  hate and a couple others
Sexuality: NONE - not even hinted at 
Other: None