The Field of the Dogs

March 1, 2001
Originally published chapter by chapter in newspapers as part of the "Breakfast Serials" program, this disappointing story juggles an uneasy mix of realism and fantasy. Narrator Josh has just moved from Virginia to Vermont with his mother, her new husband and their infant son. During a snow day (forcing his school closing), Josh searches for his dog, Manch, and finds the pooch in a field playing--and laughing--with three canine pals (Manch tells the alpha dog, Ace, that they'll have to set some ground rules for play, and Ace responds, "Well, it's always three to one. Twelve legs to four"). Josh then listens as they talk in human speech about the River Gang, a rival group of larger dogs headed up by a fierce weimaraner. Manch never speaks in human words to Josh again until Ace is badly hurt, hit by a snowplow while fighting with one of the enemy dogs. In a parallel plot, Josh copes with Wes, a bullying classmate and neighbor, whose help he eventually seeks out after making a futile attempt to shoot the weimaraner with his stepfather's rifle as the two dog packs fight. Paterson's (The Smallest Cow in the World) potentially intriguing premise of talking dogs isn't fully integrated into the tale, so it ends up calling attention to itself rather than moving the story forward. Though minimal and sometimes murky, McCully's (Mirette on the High Wire) black-and-white line art may well encourage reluctant readers, as will the book's brief chapters and the text's relatively large type size. Ages 8-12.

At first, Newbery Medal winner Katherine Paterson (BRIDGE TO TERABITHIA, JACOB HAVE I LOVED) seems to be telling the all too familiar tale of the new kid in town, the kid with no friends and a rotten new stepfather. But trust Paterson to solve the classic outsider problem in a whole new way. Josh, the main character, has a dog named Manch, who Josh begins to believe can talk. Whether this is a coping mechanism or a miracle is left up to the listener, but narrator Johnny Heller gives Josh a wistful, every-boy quality that puts the reader firmly in Josh's corner. Heller, probably the best narrator in the audio biz when it comes to young male protagonists, brings poignant life to this remarkable tale of fitting into the pack. M.C. (c) AudioFile 2001, Portland, Maine