Night of the Howling Dogs by Graham Salisbury

Night of the Howling Dogs by Graham Salisbury is based on the true story of the Boy Scout Troop that was hammered by a 7.2 earthquake and subsequent tsunami on the island of Hawaii in 1975. In this story, Dylan's Scout troop hikes out to Halape, Hawaii to camp on a deserted but beautiful beach at the base of the volcano. Dylan is plagued the whole way by Louie, an older boy who has had it in for Dylan since they first met. Louie doesn't even seem to want to be there, and the other scouts aren't sure why Mr. Bellows, their leader, insisted upon Louie joining. They set up camp after a grueling hike, and everything seems fine, the first night, except that Dylan is awakened in the middle of the night by howling dogs - the same dogs he's sure he saw one their hike in. The next day the troop meets Masa and his friends, fishermen who have ridden their horses in and are camping nearby. They share some information about the dogs that seems like myth, but has Dylan on edge. Masa believes they are signs from the ancient Pele, that tell of something to come - possibly the volcano erupting! In the dead of night, it seems like Pele has spoken, because a massive earthquake hits, destroying everything. It knocks much of the shore of the island into the water, causing an enormous tsunami. Surprisingly, it's Dylan and Louie who have to work together to make sure everyone gets out alive.

This was an AWESOME adventure story! It had me on the edge of my seat nearly the entire time! I really liked the way the author wove the characters' back stories into the main story. It was written in such a way that I forgot it was even based on a true historical event. Then, I got to the author's note and found out that it was not only based on a true story, but the author's actually related to one of the Scouts who survived this ordeal! Probably my favorite of the Maud Hart Lovelace Nominees for the 2010-2011 school year.


For more information: 1975 earthquake/tsunami at Halape, Hawaii.