“Mom,” Olivia said. “Mom. I think … you know who I think this is?”
Olivia knelt down beside me, looking carefully at my face.
“Bella?” she said. “You can’t be … Bella? Is it you?”
“Can’t be,” Audrey murmured.
I had not heard a human voice saying my name in a long time. It was wonderful! I jumped on Olivia to show how happy I was, and we fell together onto the floor and rolled around there as I wagged and licked wherever I could reach her skin and whined with happiness.
“It is, Mom! It is!” Olivia shouted from underneath me. “It’s Bella! She came home!”
After Olivia and I were done being so happy together, and after I’d greeted Audrey, too, and licked Chicken Lady’s hands some more, the people all did a lot of talking and calling on their phones. Audrey had brought a collar and a leash, and she put them on me. “Bella, Bella, I can’t believe it’s you!” she kept saying.
Then we took a car ride, Audrey and Olivia and me. Chicken Lady did not get to come. Audrey drove, and Olivia sat in the back seat with me.
“I still can’t believe it, Bella,” she told me. “We searched so hard for you! Mom, do you think she walked home?”
“Maybe she did,” Audrey said. “She looks like it.”
Olivia sniffed. “And she smells like it, too. Whew, girl, you stink! Are we there yet, Mom?”
“Ten more minutes,” Audrey said from the front seat.
We’d left the scent of Go Home far behind us, which made me a little nervous. We were driving through fields with trees in the distance, and I could smell in the air rushing through the windows that we were coming up on a different town, a new one.
Should we be leaving Go Home like this? Of course Audrey and Olivia were not the kind of people who would try to keep me from Lucas … except that they had done so, long ago. The last time I’d gone on a car ride with them, we’d gone to Uncle José and Aunt Loretta’s house, and Lucas had not been there. That had been the start of this whole long journey.
I moved away from Olivia. I stuck my nose out of the other window, searching for familiar odors. I whined.
“It’s okay, girl. It’s okay, Bella. You’re going to be so happy so soon!” Olivia told me.
At last the car stopped moving. We were parked in a driveway, and a small house was next to it.
“Did you text him?” asked Olivia as Audrey pulled the keys from the lot.
“Of course I did. Keep hold of the leash when you open the door. She’s agitated,” Audrey said.
Olivia picked up the leash and opened the car door. I jumped out and lifted my nose to the air. Did I have to start Go Home all over again?
The smell that rushed into my nose was overwhelming. Lucas was here! This driveway, this lawn, this house was full of his smell.
Then the door of the house opened and he was there.
My boy. My person.
Lucas.
I pulled the leash right out of Olivia’s hand, and Lucas and I ran to each other. We met on the front lawn and fell to the ground together. I climbed on him and lay down right on top of him, licking his face and his neck and his hands. “Bella! Bella!” Lucas kept saying.
I had done Go Home. I was Go Home with Lucas.
He pushed me off a little bit so he could sit up. I was yipping, not doing No Barks, and I ran in a circle around him and threw myself into his lap. Mom came out of the house, too. She did not have her stick with her now, although she still walked with a limp. She came to us and kneeled down beside us both. “It’s actually her,” she said in amazement.
“Bella. Bella, we looked so hard for you!” Lucas told me. He took my face in both hands. “You’re so skinny. Look how skinny she is!”
“I think she came on a very long journey to find you,” Mom said, reaching out to pet me, too. Olivia knelt down on the other side of Lucas, and I wiggled onto my back in Lucas’s lap so that she could rub my tummy.
I had never felt so loved. Olivia leaned over and kissed Lucas on the check, and he kissed her back. They were doing love, too.
That’s what Go Home meant. It was love. And I had done it at last.
* * *
After that there was more food for me, which was wonderful, and a bath, which was not. And then there was the best thing ever—a bed with a blanket on it. My Lucas blanket!
I flopped down on the bed and lay there happily. Lucas lay beside me, and Olivia sat cross-legged next to us. Mom looked in the door and then limped away, smiling.
Lucas rubbed my neck. “There’s a scar here. I can’t imagine what she went through.”
“Mom says it’s four hundred miles from Aunt Loretta and Uncle José’s house to your old place,” Olivia said. “By the roads. She doesn’t know how long if you try to walk through the mountains. Do you really think she did that, Lucas?”
I wagged sleepily for Lucas’s name.
“Yeah, I think she did. But I don’t know how she survived. How could she have found enough to eat?” Lucas sat up on the bed. “Wait! I just thought of something!” He jumped off the bed and ran out of the room.
I sat up, ready to run after him, but he was back in a moment, holding something small in his hand.
I could smell what it was. I went on high alert, my whole body rigid, waiting.
“It’s such a tiny piece of cheese!” Olivia said, giggling.
Yes! T-i-i-ny Piece of Cheese!
“I know, but she loves it. Watch her stare at it.” Lucas brought his hand slowly up, then down, then close to my face. Closer … closer …
At last the cheese was close enough. Gently, I removed it from his fingers. The explosion of taste on my tongue lasted only a moment, but it was exactly what I had been longing for all this time: a treat, hand-fed to me by my person.
Lucas flopped on the bed again and I lay close beside him. I thought back to my hungry days on the trail, when all I could think about was my T-i-i-ny Piece of Cheese. It was just as wonderful as I remembered.
I lay there, thinking about how hungry I had been for so long. I thought of Big Kitten, how she sat and watched me from the rocks where I’d last seen her. I had taken care of Big Kitten when she needed me. I hoped she was doing well now that I was not there to look after her.
Just as I’d taken care of Big Kitten, others had taken care of me. Gavin and Taylor had loved me. So had Uncle José and Aunt Loretta. And I had loved them, too, but I could not stay with them. I needed to find Lucas. I knew they would understand.
Now, curled up with Lucas and Olivia, I was back with my people and would never leave again. I was a good dog.
Finally, finally, I was Go Home.
Reading & Activity Guide to
Bella’s Story
By W. Bruce Cameron
Ages 8–12; Grades 3–7
Loyal, loving pit-bull mix Bella forms an unbreakable bond with Lucas, after the determined thirteen-year-old boy rescues her from a house earmarked for demolition. Basking in his attention, reciprocating his affection, and helping Lucas support his wounded, military-veteran mother become Bella’s defining missions. But her black-and-white view of the world and her place in it is turned upside-down when a meddlesome neighbor contacts animal control. According to the local law, if animal control sees a pit-bull-breed dog like Bella off of Lucas’s property, they can take her away and even euthanize her. To keep her safe until he and his mother can relocate to a place that allows pit bulls, Lucas reluctantly agrees to send Bella to stay with a friend’s aunt and uncle in a town over four hundred miles away. Confused by the separation and determined to reunite with her beloved Lucas, Bella escapes and embarks on an arduous journey through mountainous terrain. In Bella’s Story, readers get a dog’s-eye view of bittersweet adventures, harrowing encounters, and invaluable life lessons as Bella faithfully discharges her most important duty: to “Go Home.”
Reading Bella’s Story with Your Children
Pre-Reading Discussion Questions
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�1. Bella’s Story is based on W. Bruce Cameron’s adult novel A Dog’s Way Home, which was made into a major motion picture. W. Bruce Cameron also wrote Shelby’s Story, imagining the fictionalized back story of Shelby, the animal actor who played Bella in the A Dog’s Way Home movie. Have you read or seen any of these other works? If so, how does that affect your ideas about, or expectations of, Bella’s Story or its canine main character? In cases where there is a book and a movie of the same story, which you do you prefer to check out first—the book or the movie? Why?
2. If you haven’t read or seen the other works (novel, chapter book, or movie) related to the character of Bella, can you think of a movie or book you enjoyed that featured a dog or other animal as the main character? What was interesting or appealing about that animal character?
3. Bella’s Story imagines an amazing journey a devoted pet makes to reunite with her owner. Have you heard or read a nonfiction story in which a pet or animal did something heroic or unusual to help their owner? What were the circumstances in that story?
Post-Reading Discussion Questions
1. In Chapter 1, we meet the book’s canine narrator, Bella. Although she is a stray pup sheltering in a crawl space, her “voice” is optimistic. Can you think of some examples from her descriptions of her home, family, and (feline) neighbors that illustrate her positive attitude?
2. When people with blazing flashlights invade the crawl space, Bella observes: “These were the first humans I had ever seen. Even though the light and the noises were alarming, something deep inside me was interested, too. I almost wanted to run toward the people as they crawled into the den.” Can you think of other examples from Bella’s Story where Bella experiences mixed feelings about people, or their actions or intentions?
3. In Chapter 2, Lucas makes the risky choice to run in front of the bulldozer and demand the demolition workers stop until the remaining animals are rescued. Do you think this was the right choice? If you were in Lucas’s position, would you have done the same thing? Why or why not?
4. Author W. Bruce Cameron emphasizes rich, sensory details, and uses techniques like personification (assigning human qualities or actions to inanimate objects) to create an authentic, dog’s-eye point of view in Bella’s Story. Lacking a frame of reference for what a bulldozer is or does, for example, Bella comments: “The big square thing stopped moving. It stopped growling too.” How does the author’s use of personification and sensory-driven descriptions help convey how human objects and activities, and even humans themselves, appear from Bella’s perspective?
5. Several of the story’s key human characters make decisions in Chapter 3 that significantly impact what happens next both for Bella and the story. Olivia doesn’t tell her mother (rescue-worker Audrey) that Lucas has Bella. Audrey realizes it’s Bella, not a “baseball mitt,” in Lucas’s jacket, but doesn’t insist on taking the puppy back to the rescue. And Lucas decides that he is going to keep Bella and bring her home without asking for his mother’s permission first. Do you agree or disagree with each of these decisions? Why or why not? Explain your answers.
6. What do we learn about Lucas and his mom’s relationship, and circumstances, through their discussion in Chapter 4 about Lucas keeping Bella?
7. What are some of the special treats and activities that Lucas and Bella share? How does Olivia help Lucas train Bella?
8. In Chapter 5, why do you think the animal control officer decides to give Lucas and Bella a second chance, after the officer initially says it’s illegal to have a pit bull within city limits and he’s going to have to take Bella? What advice does the animal control officer give Lucas to keep Bella safe? What does Lucas think of the suggestion?
9. In Chapter 6, while the people are talking about the unfairness of the laws against pit bulls, which is a pretty serious and immediate concern, Bella goes over to Lucas, observing: “I went over and put my head in his lap so that he’d remember everything was okay and also that I hadn’t had a cookie yet.” Do you like it when the author uses humor, through the voice of Bella, to break up tense situations or scenes? Can you think of other examples from the story where one of Bella’s humorous descriptions or observations lightens a stressful moment in the action?
10. In Chapter 7, after she gets her new job, Lucas’s mom tells Bella: “Thank you for forcing me to quit making excuses. I thought it would be too hard for me, but I love having a purpose in the world beyond just healing myself. You gave me that. I love you.” What role did Bella play in inspiring Lucas’s mom to take such positive steps in her life and recovery?
11. When Lucas is saying goodbye to Bella before she is taken to her temporary home with Olivia’s aunt and uncle, Lucas says: “But I’m not abandoning you, Bella. I’ll come and get you. It won’t be long before you can go home.” Why is this one of the most pivotal moments in the story? Explain your answer.
12. Why is the timing of Bella’s escape from Aunt Loretta and Uncle José’s backyard unlucky, or ironic?
13. Why does Bella feel that she needs to take care of Big Kitten when she meets her in Chapter 12? What are some examples, in Chapters 13 and 14, of how Bella’s wilder instincts come out?
14. How does Bella help fellow dog Dutch? Why does Dutch being with Gavin and Taylor make it easier for Bella to separate from them?
15. How does Big Kitten defending Bella from the coyotes in Chapter 21 bring their special relationship “full circle”? When Mother Cat helps Bella out (after Bella discovers Lucas and his mom have moved), does that relationship come “full circle” in a way as well? In the last chapter, when Bella is reunited with Lucas at last, does it feel like this central relationship in the story also represents a circle, or cycle, of love and kindness?
Post-Reading Activities
Take the story from the page to the pavement with these fun and inspiring activities for the dog lovers in your family.
1. Can you teach an old dog new tricks?
Throughout Bella’s story, Lucas and others teach Bella basic commands like “Sit” and “Come,” as well as more challenging skills like “No Barks” and “Go Home.” Using the repetition, reward, and treat strategy modeled in the book, can you teach your family pet (or work with a friend or relative to teach their pet) a new trick, or series of tricks? Consider inviting friends to do the same, and work together to organize a dog show where you and your furry “students” can share the results with an audience of pet-loving family and friends.
2. Stories with a happy friending!
In Bella’s Story, animals—sometimes even of different species—lend each other a hand (or a paw!) in difficult circumstances. Think of puppy Bella and Mother Cat; Bella and Big Kitten; Bella and Dutch; or the “pack” of neighborhood dogs, who show Bella where to get food around town. Together with your child, can you research online or at the library stories about unique animal friendships, which developed at zoos, animal sanctuaries, farms, or in the aftermath of a forest fire or natural disaster? If desired, do an art project together to illustrate one of the special animal friendships you discover. You could make a collage with images and quotes; drawings; paintings; a diorama; or air-dry clay sculptures.
3. How can you help animals in need?
Bella’s Story examines some of the challenges stray or lost animals can face, as they search for food, water, shelter, and companionship. Animal shelters and rescue organizations do important work to help these animals in need. Consider partnering with your kids to research needs and opportunities you might be able to help out with at your local animal shelters, or rescue organizations.
Reading Bella’s Story In Your Classroom
These Common Core−aligned writing activities may be used in conjunction with the pre- and post-reading discussion questions above.
1. Point of View.
Bella’s Story is narrated by determined pit-bull mix Bella, who won’t let anything come between her and the boy she loves. Bella encounters other human and animal characters, who help or hinder her as she finds her way back to Lucas. Big Kitten, for example, becomes a critical friend and ally to Bella, but we only hear about the relationship from Bella’s perspective. How might it be different if Big Kitten was describing the friendship? Write two to three paragraphs from Big Kitten’s point of view. Include Big Kitten’s first impressions of Bella; what she learns from Bella, and what Bella teaches her; how their friendship develops; and how they make their differences (for example, sleeping habits, desire to avoid or approach people, preference for isolated versus populated areas, playing, feeding, and hunting behaviors) benefits, instead of barriers, in their friendship.
2. A Family Tale.
In a one-page essay, discuss how the concept of family is explored throughout Bella’s Story. What does Bella learn, and experience, about the meaning of family? Does one specific set of biological factors, or specific features, define a family, or is it a more fluid and flexible concept? Can you be part of a temporary family, and “carry” the love and memory of that family with you, even if you become part of another family group? In your essay, you can focus on one family or “pack” from the story, or examine several different scenarios. Use examples and details from the text, as you explore how families or packs in the story formed, functioned, changed, or grew. You can consider human or animal families, or families made up of both. (Some family “models” you might consider could include: Puppy Bella and her littermates and mother dog; the cat and kitten families in Bella’s puppyhood “den”; Bella’s adoptive family with Mother Cat; Lucas and his mom; Lucas, his mom, and Bella; Aunt Loretta, Uncle José, and Bella; Bella and Big Kitten; and Gavin, Taylor, Dutch, and Bella.)
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