Greyfriars Bobby - Softcover

Ruth Brown

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0099456494 ISBN 13: 9780099456490

Publisher: Arrow Books Ltd, 1925

Synopsis

A retelling of the classic tale of a little dog's undying loyalty to its dead master. The memory of Bobby's 14-year vigil, beside the grave of Old Jock in Edinburgh, lives on as each generation discovers the moving story. Part of the 1995 Scottish Book Fortnight promotion.

About this title

About the Author

Ruth Brown is the author and illustrator of many children's books, including A Dark, Dark Tale; The Old Tree; The Tale of Two Mice; Ten Seeds; and Snail Trail, which was shortlisted for the Kate Greenaway Medal.

From Booklist

Though classified as fiction, this tells the supposedly true story of Scotland’s most loyal dog. A framing device introduces two American kids, bored with Edinburgh tourism, as they stumble upon the water-fountain statue in honor of Greyfriars Bobby. A gardener at the next-door churchyard tells them the story. In the mid-1800s, Bobby was the companion of a shepherd named Old Jock, and the two went everywhere together, including the local café. When Jock died, in 1858, Bobby followed his remains to a Greyfriars burial plot and spent the rest of his life atop the grave—making side trips to the café for meals, of course. Though there is a disorienting lack of context (the word Edinburgh, for instance, doesn’t appear in the main text), the tale is a mix of haunting and sweet that ought to lodge inside young brains the way it has in Scottish legend. Brown’s beautiful watercolors ably depict Bobby’s courage and especially excel at the alternately sunny, gloomy, and snowy cityscapes. A fitting tribute to an unforgettable canine. Grades K-3. --Daniel Kraus

Edition details

• Publisher: Arrow Books Ltd
• Publication date: 1925
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0099456494
• ISBN 13: 9780099456490
• Binding: Paperback