Dogboy [Hardcover]

Christopher Russell (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 10 and up | Grade Level: 5 and up

Brind

Discovered as a baby in Sir Edmund's kennels, Brind has grown up with the mastiffs. He plays with them, eats with them, and sleeps in their den. Brind understands dogs better than he understands any human.

Glaive

The largest and most powerful dog in the pack, Glaive is Brind's best friend. He would do anything for the dog boy, even race straight into battle.

Aurélie

Thrown out of her home as the French army prepares for the English invasion, Aurélie can either beg outside the town wall with her mother, or fight the enemy herself. She has never been one to sit still.

When the English and French armies clash at the Battle of Crécy, there will be honor, treachery, loss, chivalry—and glory. For Brind, Glaive, and Aurélie, this is only the beginning.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 5-7–Sir Edmund Dowe, a middle-aged knight who's fallen on hard times, has decided to join his countrymen in the first stage of the Hundred Years War between England and France and takes his ragtag servants with him: Tullo, a cruel but effective huntsman; Philip, Dowe's weedy nephew and page; and 12-year-old Brind, the dogboy. As a baby, Brind was found among a litter of mastiff puppies, and as a boy, he is invaluable to Sir Edmund as someone who can communicate with the large, fierce dogs. During the battle of Crécy, Glaive, the leader of the mastiff pack, escapes from his French attackers into the woods. Brind tracks the wounded dog (who is also his best friend) and stumbles across a 10-year-old French refugee named Aurélie. Despite a rough start, the two become companions during their journey to survive the perils that follow them, including an English lord bent on owning Brind for his own dogboy and the vengeful Tullo. The action is fast-paced with narrow escapes at every turn and elements of dry humor at the most unlikely times. While the coincidences of all the characters repeatedly meeting up might stretch credulity at times, the elements of the deus ex machina are important to keeping up the speed of the story. Readers who are in transition from the reluctant to the eager phases will find enough adventure here to hold their attention.–Farida S. Dowler, Mercer Island Library, WA
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Gr. 4-6. Abandoned as a baby and raised by dogs, 12-year-old Brind has a rapport with Sir Edward's prize mastiffs that makes him invaluable. When the knight brings both dogs and boy on a military campaign, the bloody "great hunt" leaves Brind separated from his master and desperately searching for the decimated pack's wounded leader. Much of the novel's suspense comes from Brind's pursuit by adults who either resent or wish to exploit his dog-tending abilities, and it's difficult to accept that a mere kennel boy would loom so large in minds preoccupied by war. Such weak spots are common in debut novels; less typical are the many things first-timer Russell does well. Few authors for this audience incorporate multiple perspectives (including those of a homeless French girl and Sir Edward himself) as gracefully, and readers will be riveted by the concise, plainspoken writing about the brutality and absurdity of battle: "Without war, what would men of rank do, other than grow fat?" Offer this to readers who favor medieval adventures akin to Nancy Springer's Tales of Rowan Hood series. Jennifer Mattson
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 10 and up
  
• Hardcover: 272 pages
• Publisher: Greenwillow Books (May 9, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060841168
• ISBN-13: 978-0060841164
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.8 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,674,926 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A gem for older children and teens, April 6, 2008

By 

LS in Maine (Eliot, ME United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dogboy (Hardcover)

I just read this book to my ten year-old son and I can't remember a children's book I've enjoyed more. It's heartwarming, historically interesting and full of originality, especially in the portrayal of the main character Brind, the "Dog Boy" who was raised by dogs and helps care for a nobleman's mastiffs. I particularly loved the author's use of dry humor in bringing the Middle Ages to life. For instance, one of the main characters, an English knight who is captured during a battle in France by an amiable French lord (they become pals), struggles to figure out if the code of chivalry would allow him to return home when the lord suddenly dies, because the ransom to secure his freedom hasn't yet arrived from England. The story works on an adult level, yet the relationships between the half-wild boy Brind and the mastiff "Glaive", his canine soulmate, and the feisty orphaned French girl, Aurelie, makes an appealing story for children. There are some violent scenes and nasty characters, so the book is probably best for older children (as well as teens). I hope this book catches on -- it's an absolute gem.