Piper

By Natale Ghent
Orca Book Publishers, 2000
Ages 9-12
2.5/5

After Wesley's father dies in an accident, she and her mother move to her Aunt Cindy's farm in southern Ontario. In addition to raising sheep, Aunt Cindy breeds and trains Australian shepherd dogs. Grieving the sudden loss of her father, Wesley hates living in the middle of nowhere until she witnesses the birth of Piper, an undersized red merle. Wesley names the puppy Piper, and, with the help of a neighbour, begins to train her as a competitive sheep dog. Piper and Wesley are a huge success on the competitive circuit, but everything falls apart when Piper is mauled while saving Wesley's life from a coyote attack. Of course, even though this is realistic fiction, both Wesley and Piper are saved.

This is really only an okay book. Ghent's dialogue is stiff, and it took me quite a while to warm up to the character of Wesley. When Wesley and Piper are attacked, I realized I was more upset at something happening to the dog than I was at the danger to Wesley! The author's notes about Australian shepherds was useful for learning about a dog breed of which I was previously unaware.

Readers who love animals, especially dogs, will enjoy this book. I found it a little boring.