Rating: 
Summary: The lighter side of Farley Mowat
Review: This is a light-hearted book by Farley Mowat, a writer with whom we normally associate more serious texts. Yet Mowat is just as fun-loving as the next person and it comes out in this collection of stories about his youth in Ontario and Manitoba. Mutt, the dog of the book's title, is a dog who very reasonably refuses to act like one. So he won't hunt ducks properly or do much else that is reckoned too dog-like, at least while anyone's watching. Mutt was Mowat's constant companion throughout many boyhood forays into the wild country around wherever he happened to be living. On the prairies in the 1920s and 30s, he says, it was easy to get out in the bush, because it started right where the town stopped. You just had to walk out. So began Farley Mowat's lifelong love of the natural world. Indeed, he made a pretty good naturalist by the age of ten and earned himself a minor living for a time, through the dubious activity of collecting birds' eggs. This is an easy book to get along with and one that would probably be enjoyed by children. Indeed, I assume it may well have been intended for Mowat's own children. I thoroughly recommend it.
Rating: 
Summary: Beloved dog, lost times
Review: This is a tale that couldn't happen today. Dogs don't have the lifestyle they did in the 1920's and 1930's in remote Canada, and sadly, boys don't either. Mutt is a fascinating mutt with a mind of his own; halfway through the book I realised he must be part Siberian Husky with his deafness, his love of roaming and chasing and need to attend to his own desires. Farley's mother demonstrated an act of faith- as well as the desire to save [money amount]- when she purchased Mutt as a puppy from a starving duck seller. Farley's dad wanted a hunting dog; Farley's mom didn't want to spend a lot of money on a dog during the Dust Bowl years, living in Saskatoon. Dogs roamed free, boys roamed free. Boys weren't sent off to summer camp to keep busy- there was enough to do with their own imaginations, their friends and their animal companions. Attitudes towards cats were cavalier; some parts are very hard to read if you appreciate cats. Thankfully that attitude has changed over time. The stories of the father's boating attempts are hilarious. I don't like boats, but am inspired to read "the boat that wouldn't float" by the same author. I live in the western US and have a vague understanding of how difficult it would be to navigate some of these rivers so I appreciated the delusional voyage of The Coot. Farley paints his parents as people who had their own interests and needs, but also understood the needs of their son and his dog. They understood that living in a city wouldn't work for them, after several years living in the sparse western provinces. Farley's imagination was clearly nurtured and allowed him to become the prolific writer he became. Even the car (Eardlie, a Model A) has a character and idiosycrasies that add to the story. My dog, too, is geriatric so I read the final chapter sadly. Mutt's demise will give fuel to the arguments of people who believe completely in leash laws. Yes, this is a fantastic story of a dog, but it is also a wonderful story of life in a more free time, for children. Farley skips over most of the drawbacks of that time and paints a wonderful portrait of childhood.
Rating:
Summary: Beloved dog, lost times
Review: This is a tale that couldn't happen today. Dogs don't have the lifestyle they did in the 1920's and 1930's in remote Canada, and sadly, boys don't either. Mutt is a fascinating mutt with a mind of his own; halfway through the book I realised he must be part Siberian Husky with his deafness, his love of roaming and chasing and need to attend to his own desires. Farley's mother demonstrated an act of faith- as well as the desire to save [money amount]- when she purchased Mutt as a puppy from a starving duck seller. Farley's dad wanted a hunting dog; Farley's mom didn't want to spend a lot of money on a dog during the Dust Bowl years, living in Saskatoon. Dogs roamed free, boys roamed free. Boys weren't sent off to summer camp to keep busy- there was enough to do with their own imaginations, their friends and their animal companions. Attitudes towards cats were cavalier; some parts are very hard to read if you appreciate cats. Thankfully that attitude has changed over time. The stories of the father's boating attempts are hilarious. I don't like boats, but am inspired to read "the boat that wouldn't float" by the same author. I live in the western US and have a vague understanding of how difficult it would be to navigate some of these rivers so I appreciated the delusional voyage of The Coot. Farley paints his parents as people who had their own interests and needs, but also understood the needs of their son and his dog. They understood that living in a city wouldn't work for them, after several years living in the sparse western provinces. Farley's imagination was clearly nurtured and allowed him to become the prolific writer he became. Even the car (Eardlie, a Model A) has a character and idiosycrasies that add to the story. My dog, too, is geriatric so I read the final chapter sadly. Mutt's demise will give fuel to the arguments of people who believe completely in leash laws. Yes, this is a fantastic story of a dog, but it is also a wonderful story of life in a more free time, for children. Farley skips over most of the drawbacks of that time and paints a wonderful portrait of childhood.
Rating:
Summary: A wonderful story for dog lovers of ALL ages.
Review: This is one of the best books of all times. Anyone who has had a pet that was very special will relate to this story in a very touching and personal way. Farley Mowat is a great Author.
Rating:
Summary: A classic dog story book
Review: This is one of the funniest books that I have ever read. Mutt, the dog, comes to the family in a basket filled with ducks. The father in the story wants an expensive pure bred dog for hunting. However, mother circumvents this by plucking out the dog, paying one cent, and saving lots of money. There are plenty of misadventures in the story, from mutt retrieving a stuffed pheasent in the city (after father pointed his shotgun and said bang), to climbing a ladder into the eccentric womans house filled with 50 cats. There was the encounter with the skunk (in the basement of the house) and the time father accidentally used bluing to clean the dog. The part about the owls is funny and interesting as well. Needless to say, Mutt has many adventures, all of them hilarious I have read this book many times.
Rating:
Summary: The Kick Butt Canadian Book
Review: This is THE GREATEST BOOK to ever be written by any Canadian author. I'm 15 and I have this book, but it never leaves my bedside. This is one book that should be read, over and over. It totally shows love in its purest form.
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful Children's Book
Review: When I read this book, I laughed so hard that my belly hurt! I heartily recommend it for anyone who needs a break from the serious realities of life...
Rating:
Summary: A must for dog lovers!
Review: When I read this book, I laughed so hard that my belly hurt! I heartily recommend it for anyone who needs a break from the serious realities of life...
Rating:
Summary: Crazy dog in Canada
Review: When my daughter was small, her repeated request was 'read about the skunks, Daddy.' I don't think it was the topic (crazy dog, hyperactive kid, sleeping skunk, dirt basement, dead of winter and a garden hose) as much as even after having read it to her dozens of times I still broke up when I got to the line beginning 'A rich golden haze...' (I just cracked up writing this.) This is a book for anyone who has ever loved a dog or a squirrel or a chipmonk or a garter snake or ever rode a two wheeler and pretended it was a horse or walked in a field or wished 'why didn't I ...' No child should be forced to grow up without watching their parents snort coffee through their nose while trying to read 'The Dog Who Wouldn't Be.'
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