Home > Categories > Books > Kids - General > Scrap #1 Tale of a Blond Puppy review
Scrap is an unusual coloured puppy who has been saved from drowning by Lionel, who trains working sheepdogs. Having had no mother to teach him about being a dog, Scrap learns some hard lessons from a wise old dog named Bill, and although some say sheep have no respect for a blond dog,
Scrap proves he has 'the Eye' and loves being a working dog. But his youthful exuberance gets him in many scrapes!
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I love reading and would read anything with a good story, lucky this book has a great story and is very easy to read. You can understand the puppy's confusion and excitement as he learns how to work the sheep and what it means to "have the eye".
There were parts that were funny and some parts had me glad that I don't have a puppy. Scrap sure gets into some situations and sometimes his instinct guides him but sometimes it is a memory and he ends up the wrong place. Lucky he is young and very willing and eager to learn.
I probably wouldn't read it again but going to keep for my boys as they might enjoy the story. The story deals with some dark and depressing topics and this would be a good way to introduce those topics to the kids in a way that they would understand. This book was an easy read, I did manage it in a few hours.
This book was carried around by my daughter for a few days, as she would happily sit and read her first chapter book alone...most of the time pretending to read it, as the words were to advanced for her age :) She is only 6yo and I believe this book is aimed at teenagers.
The cover implies a cute story about a cute little puppy, however the actual story is much more grown up than what was expected. I was happy for miss 6 to pretend to read it and to show everyone the cute little puppy on the cover (she loves dogs) but I never actually read it to her.
I read all the books that come into my home, and this is a great book but not for younger readers. There's a lot of detail, many sad moments, and a lot happening that younger readers would not be able to comprehend. Teenagers or 10yrs plus however, could definitely learn a lot from this story, a small insight into the real world and what can and does happen to working dogs and on farms.
Master 12 read it and said he enjoyed it but its not really his kind of book, he thought his cousin would enjoy it though but it might make her cry. It is a vivid but real look into a small dogs life, one of those books that does make you shake your head, smile and grimace. You know its not a true story but its written in away that shows life's realities, and does leave you wondering.
My daughter picked Scrap to read for last week's bedtime chapter book. The chapters in this book are much longer than the other books we have been reading, and there were quite a few of them too. So we stuck to one chapter a night, and it took about a week to complete.
Scrap is the story of a white sheep dog. As a baby his owner chose to drown him because sheep don't respect a white dog. He is found wet and half-dead in a sack and is nursed back to health. This book is his journey to discover his power over the sheep and how to be a dog. He has a mentor he calls Mum in Bill an older dog on the farm.
The story is quite harsh in places. Ford is a master at describing the pain of electric shocks, the sensations of suffocation and the feeling of being thrown around. It reveals some awful practices around working dogs, not on the farm Scrap is on but in other farms. At times while I was reading I saw my daughter's face go blank as she was trying to process the things happening. She asked a lot of questions, and I tried to be reassuring. While this was a good teachable moment I think this book would suit a slightly older child for that reason.
In a couple of places Scrap is called Wags. I found this a bit confusing when it first happened. So the editing was not too flash. My daughter didn't notice at all though and her favourite parts where when Scrap was learning to control the sheep and especially the chickens. She says it was a good book and I agree, though maybe for an older kid.
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