The sheep closed in around him like a big, woolly blanket. The puppy had never been so scared or so excited in his life. Soon he was racing, feinting, dodging – learning what it means to be one of the proud breed of Border collies, the finest sheepherders in the world. Then, almost overnight, his life is turned upside down. He finds himself in a series of strange places, with no sheep, his family gone. With nothing but the courage he was born with and a dream, he searches for the life he once knew, gathering names and adventures as he goes. For a short time, he's called Blackie. To the Goat Man, he's Shep. To Hollerin, he's Spot. There's one name that threatens to forever haunt him – Sparky, the name Billy the circus man calls him when he reaches for the whip. But there's another name that he is given, one that finally makes him feel at home . . .
Known for her rich character development, the author brings all her skills to delving into the mind of a clever, philosophical, and hopeful dog searching for a home.
1 of 1 copy available
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Creators
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Publisher
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Release date
April 27, 2009 -
Formats
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Kindle Book
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OverDrive Read
- ISBN: 9781466817470
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EPUB ebook
- ISBN: 9781466817470
- File size: 133 KB
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Languages
- English
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Levels
- ATOS Level: 4
- Lexile® Measure: 660
- Interest Level: 4-8(MG)
- Text Difficulty: 2-3
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Reviews
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April 24, 2006
A Border collie, Jack, narrates his story of multiple homes, owners and names in this flawed outing by Hobbs (Tender
; Defiance
). When lightning destroys the California sheep ranch of his puppyhood, Jack is sold to a pet shop. He flees his mismatched adoptive family, then drifts from one human to another. Ever hopeful of reconnecting with the higher calling of his breed (herding sheep), Jack settles over "a good many dog years" for food and companionship. There's a happy interlude with the itinerant "Goat Man" and a hardscrabble turn with a pair of homeless thieves. Jack performs in a circus run by the brutal Billy, and falls in love with the baleful, elegant dog Tiffany. When (another) fire breaks out, Jack herds an angry elephant away from the fleeing crowd, then escapes (with Tiffany's maudlin blessing); eventually his good turn with an orphan helps Jack, too, land the perfect home—a sheep ranch. Much strains credulity here: Jack's hard times and heroics evoke not so much the likes of Lad: A Dog
or The Incredible Journey
, as the bathos of a Disney feature. While Hobbs captures some doggy details well (such as Jack's preoccupation with smells), stereotypical characters, the too-human narration, and Jack's unsettling habit of referring to characters by inferred names (e.g., Hollerin, Retardo), ultimately detract from the thrust of the tale. Ages 8-12.
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