T
he world was quiet when Jessie was a little girl, and often she was lonely. More than anything, Jessie wanted a dog for a friend. Jessie lives with her parents on a farm a long way from anywhere. There are no other people for miles around. Often, she is lonely. More than anything, Jessie wants a dog; a friend who will play with her, come running when she calls and sleep with its head on her lap. Her mother and father can’t see any need for a dog on a wheat farm. Besides, there’s so much work to do. They don’t have time for a pet. Jessie will just have to wait.
But one autumn night, the sow in the barn has her litter, and Jessie notices one piglet who is smaller and weaker than the others. When the little runt begins to ail, Jessie persuades her father to bring it into the house so it can be nursed back to health. At last Jessie has what she really wanted all along-a friend who needed her.
Set on the prairies during the 1920’s, A Dog for a Friend is a heartwarming story about the aching need for companionship that every child will identify with and understand.
Recommended reading ages 4-8
Written by Marilynn Reynolds & Illustrated by Stephen McCallum
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Author & Illustrator
Marilynn Reynolds is the bestselling author of a number of picturebooks from Orca, including A Present for Mrs Kazinski, The Prairie Fire, The New Land, A Dog for a Friend and The Name of the Child, published in 2002. Her book Goodbye to Griffiths Street won the Christie Harris Award in 2005. Marilynn Reynolds was born in Sudbury, Ontario, but has spent most of her life on the Prairies. This life, combined with her mother’s and grandparents’ experiences growing up in wide-open spaces, gave her a wealth of story material and a unique look at early Canadian life.
Stephen McCallum is the illustrator of a number of picturebooks, including Belle’s Journey, The Good Companion and The New Land.
- Illustration, A Dog for a Friend
