A Dogtown Book
Katherine Applegate,
Gennifer Choldenko,
Wallace West (Illustrated by)
Sep 22, 2026
Hardcover with dust jacket
Juvenile Fiction / Animals / Dogs / Social Themes / Friendship
Ages 8 to 12
Dogtown is a shelter for all dogs -- real and robot. Metal Head, a robot dog who is a longtime resident of Dogtown, is hoping for a forever home, but the robot dogs aren't as popular as real dogs. When a girl who regularly visits Dogtown expresses interest in adopting Metal Head's very shy and fearful friend Ghost, a real do, Metal Head wonders if maybe she'll adopt him, too.
But this girl doesn't have a permanent home, and Metal Head learns she isn't interested in a robot dog. As Metal Head enlists the help of his friends at Dogtown, including Mouse and Molly, a dog who fosters stray kittens, he realizes that even if he can't go to a forever home with Ghost, his Dogtown home has something just as good -- his besties.
But this girl doesn't have a permanent home, and Metal Head learns she isn't interested in a robot dog. As Metal Head enlists the help of his friends at Dogtown, including Mouse and Molly, a dog who fosters stray kittens, he realizes that even if he can't go to a forever home with Ghost, his Dogtown home has something just as good -- his besties.
