Scruffity is born in a puppy farm. The Way of Dog charts his journey from being unwanted to finding a home, with plenty of adventures, love and tragedy along the way. Scruffity brings The Way of Dog into his relationships with the shoe-legs he meets and teaches them what it means to dig and to howl and to love.
For me this was a multiple tissue story. Scruffity experiences plenty of tender moments, but also suffers some major losses, beginning with his mamma and siblings. There are not many stories told from a dog’s perspective, let alone as a verse novel. Zana Fraillon has executed this to perfection, with beautifully chosen descriptive nouns and verbs, such as shoe-legs for people, to express Scruffity’s voice.
Sean Buckingham’s black and white illustrations are emotionally evocative and served to make me fall even deeper in love with this special pup.
This novel is going to become a re-reading favourite for me. Highly recommended.
Anna Quinlan - Author 