A vintage book that has remained a favorite since my childhood. The story is a sweet simple story that brings out the very true message of maturity through times of trouble and in finding that our disastrous bad choices can lead to our strength in the end. And it is this message that persists throughout time.

Patricia does a beautiful job in putting us in a familiar background with her easy-to-read and simple plot. And the story is an actual good beginning story that moves along pretty quick while the simplistic illustrations add depth to the story for beginning readers. This will be a book that with the right audience will stay with you into future years. ( )

Cute, Terhune-esque story of a dog finally growing up in a crisis. Total spoilers, if you care: Champ is called Clown for his silly, puppyish tricks, though he's over a year old (a grown dog, or should be); he runs off instead of taking care of the sheep, hides things from his owners, and teases the working horse, Snowball. Hmm, no mention of how he regards Shep, the old sheepdog - who Clown is supposed to replace, as he's getting old. So his owner - the owner of the sheep ranch - finally decides that he must sell Clown and buy a better dog, despite his son's sorrow at the loss of his pal. But just then, the valley is about to flood when an old dam is cracking under the weight of heavy rainfall, so the family (and Shep) leave, leaving Snowball and the sheep to fend for themselves - and Clown, because he's run off again. Clown comes home to find no one there and the house is soon surrounded with water. Then a few lost sheep, trapped nearby, are bleating in despair - and somehow Clown grows up and into his responsibilities. There's a puma, later, as well, and Champ is badly wounded - but since this is Terhune-esque and not an Old Yeller story, Champ survives and the story ends with him being accepted back into the family, as the excellent working dog he should have been all along. The story is completely predictable, and written in very simple language - which doesn't detract from it at all; for what it is (a children's animal book), it's great. ( )