Rose in a Storm

August 23, 2010
Told from the perspective of Rose, a farm dog, Katz's latest pits man and dog against the forces of nature. Rose is a dedicated sheepherder and fiercely loyal to her owner, Sam. When a brutal winter storm hits Granville Farm during lambing season, Rose's work is cut out for her as she attempts to help Sam keep the animals alive. But when Sam is injured from a fall from the roof and lies buried beneath a snow drift, Rose is left alone to deal with harsh winds, subzero temperatures, a lack of food, frozen water supplies, and the ever-lurking pack of coyotes. Happily, Rose goes into Lassie mode, singlehandedly saving Sam and the farm animals and as a result, our tough endearing canine goes on to become a legend in the local farming community. Having Rose center stage offers some poignant insights into the interconnectedness of nature and provides a small window into Sam's life, empty after the loss of his wife, Katie, but Rosie's dog-mind is limiting. Katz (Soul of a Dog) has written extensively about his own farm (Bedlam in upstate New York) and the nature of dogs, but while the plot is interesting, the book reads more like an extended children's story than a fully developed novel.

September 1, 2010

Rose (Dog Days, 2007, etc.) pens a simple novel of super-canine loyalty and heroism.

Relationships and respect—between animals, as well as between animals and humans—feature in this short, heart-tugging tale of a dog with a planet-size work ethic. The story traces border collie/shepherd mix Rose's response to a five-day mega-storm that brings down buildings, leaves farmer Sam with broken bones and endangers the lives of all the beasts. Katz shows empathy for his four-legged heroine but avoids full-scale Disney-esque sentimentality. Rose is both typical of her breed and exceptional. Faithful, responsible and a workaholic, she can feed cows, figure out when to cut her losses and even tell Sam what's best. Choosing to stay on the farm when Sam is air-lifted to the hospital, Rose not only works herself to a standstill trying to keep the cows, sheep, goats, hens and donkey alive but also goes up against a pack of coyotes who sense their opportunity. Outnumbered and wounded, Rose is mysteriously defended by a possibly spectral wolf and also by an ownerless semi-wild dog, Flash, with a secret identity.

A tidy crossover tale likely to warm many predisposed hearts.

(COPYRIGHT (2010) KIRKUS REVIEWS/NIELSEN BUSINESS MEDIA, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.)

June 1, 2010
In his first novel in ten years, noted dog authority Katz ("A Dog Year; The Dogs of Bedlam Farm") gives us a tale about a sheep dog named Rose on a farm during a severe winter storm. A working dog with no desire to be a mere pet, Rose is at her happiest when she helps her farmer tend to the farm and its livestock. When he is injured during one of the worst storms in memory, Rose carries on, doing everything she can to keep the other animals safe through the cold and snow. She will face challenges both external and internal as she fights to protect her farm. VERDICT Katz, who also owns a farm and working dogs, is the perfect person to shine a light on the importance of work to a dog's contentment. Most important, we come to understand that Rose's devotion and commitment are not unique but part of the makeup of all our four-legged companions. Sure to appeal to Katz's readers. [See Prepub Alert, "LJ" 5/1/10; library marketing; ebook ISBN 978-0-345-52296-2.]

Copyright 2010 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

September 15, 2010
Katz, best-selling author of the anecdotal Bedlam Farm books, returns to his fiction roots with this gently appealing tale of a sheepdog named Rose. Fully immersing himself inside the mind and the soul of his furry protagonist, he conjures up a believably canine view of the joys and sorrows of life on a small farm. Spinning the narrative from Roses point of view, he paints a portrait of a close-knit community, where animals and humans rely on one another for comfort and protection. With her master injured and a ferocious storm swirling around at the height of lambing season, it is up to Rose to call upon all her instinctive resources to battle the elements of nature in order to save the lives of her sheep and rescue her farmer. Heartwarming fodder for the pet set.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2010, American Library Association.)