The child narrator of A Different Dog can't speak - we assume it is from a disability or a reaction to a trauma in his past. He is teased by the other kids and is a loner. On a cold winter's day, when everyone is participating in a fun run on the mountain, our narrator finds himself alone at the scene of a car accident where the driver has died. But there is a little dog in the car... What follows is a moving story of survival and redemption (and somehow humour in the midst of all that), all told in a 96-page novella.
Paul Jennings is one of Australia's most loved and best-selling authors, with over 100 books to his credit. He has won every children's choice award in Australia, but is probably best known in the UK for his story collections, including 'Unbelievable!', 'Unreal!' and 'Unseen', published here by Puffin, which were the basis of the top-rating TV series 'Round the Twist'. Paul is also well known for catering to the slower readers out there - by writing more sophisticated subject matter in short, clear sentences that add up to beautiful short reads for reluctant readers. This is one such story.
Title: A Different Dog
Author: Paul Jennings
ISBN: 9781910646427
Binding:
Publisher: Old Barn Books
Publication Date: 2018-02-02
Number of Pages: 96
Weight: 0.1089 kg
This is a quietly compelling, and with afterthought, immensely powerful tale... an accomplished text, which draws in reluctant readers and gets across a plethora of not just emotions, but moral dilemmas and extraordinary situations... belonging, speaking up for what's right, finding peace in friendships, and how sometimes the strongest communication is that without words. -- Claire Zinkin * MinervaReads blog *
Full of quiet, resilience and graceful lyricism, Jennings' humour peeks in at the end, gloriously. -- Melanie McGilloway * Library Mice blog *
... beautifully written... has the feel of a future classic... For a short tale, it covers a huge number of very important areas including friendship, bullying, love, loss, trauma and empathy (in bucketfuls). * Book Monsters blog *
`Paul Jennings is a master of his craft. Effortlessly, he draws the reader into this story of a boy, and a dog, and a journey both physical and emotional. The illustrations by Geoff Kelly complement the mood of this story perfectly. This book is perfect in every way.' - Goodreads.com
It's only a short read but it's an intense one packed with mystery, adventure and tragedy... The writing has a sort of poetic intensity and it treats its themes of friendship, marginalisation and emotional damage seriously without being obvious or preachy... I was also struck by the dramatic art of Geoff Kelly that decorates many of the pages... they have a distinct feel of Ardizzone's hatched shading technique. -- Terry Potter * The Letterpress Project *
Compelling and tersely written - every word counts - this is a book to hold you in its thrall even after you've put it aside. Geoff Kelly's black and white illustrations are atmospheric and powerful. This is a book that deserves to be shared and discussed widely in school, at home, by teachers and other educators, those who work as speech-language pathologists. -- Jill Bennett * Red Reading Hub *
