Soldier Dog

Starred review from May 1, 2013

Gr 6-8-A gripping story of love, loss, and sacrifice during World War I in England and France. Feeling rejected by his widowed father, Stanley Ryder, 14, longs for his older brother, who has gone off to war. Da raises horses and dogs for racing, but his wife's death has left him emotionally crippled. When their prize dog runs off and mates with a lesser breed, Da lashes out at Stanley. He gives away all but one of the litter, vowing to drown the remaining pup. Stanley runs away to find his brother. He succeeds at enlisting despite his youth and gets a job training dogs to carry messages through active gunfire and bombings when communication lines have been destroyed. Through poetic and cinematic prose, Angus breathes life into trench warfare and the horrors faced at the front. Her well-drawn characters exude courage even through their terror. Though Stanley is behind the front lines, the danger he faces is palpable, but he is determined to stay and find Tom. He finds a new family among the soldiers and begins to understand that Da's behavior toward him may have sprung from the pain of loss. He begins to long for his whole family and manages to get word of his whereabouts to Lara, his former teacher and Tom's girlfriend. Despite convenient twists that bring the story to a climax, the book remains an absorbing read that pays homage to the courage of the Allied forces while shedding light on the atrocious conditions under which they fought. An outstanding book, reminiscent of Michael Morpurgo's War Horse (Scholastic, 1982).-Renee Steinberg, formerly at Fieldstone Middle School, Montvale, NJ

Copyright 2013 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

April 15, 2013
Grades 5-8 Stanley believes Da has destroyed Soldier, Stanley's beloved half-breed pup, so he flees home for the western front of WWI in hopes of locating his brother Tom. It's no wonder: Da disdains everything and everyone, thrashing around in a bleak, bitter depression ever since his wife died, and making Stanley's life unbearable. In Angus' vividly written first novel, based on the British Army's Messenger Dog Service, Stanley fibs about his age, enlists, learns of the messenger dog service, and becomes a trainer. The dogs work heroically as runners across the battlefields of France, carrying communiqu's about enemy whereabouts. The action is highly dramatic, and readers will feel catapulted into the trenches, surrounded on all sides, at a time when an Allied victory was by no means assured. Stanley's two charges, first Bones and then Pistol, will thrill readers with their canine derring-do. True, the miraculous coincidences pile up a bit awkwardly in this affecting heart-warmer, but you probably won't find a more exciting dog story out there.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2013, American Library Association.)