Away to Me, Moss - Hardcover

Levin, Betty

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0688134394 ISBN 13: 9780688134396

Publisher: Greenwillow Books, 1994

Synopsis

When ten-year-old Zanna takes over the training of Moss, a young Border Collie bound to become a champion sheepdog, after his owner has a stroke, all goes well until suddenly Zanna's family has to move.

About this title

About the Author

Betty Levin is the author of many popular books for young people, including The Banished; Look Back, Moss; Away to Me, Moss; Island Bound; Fire in the Wind; and The Trouble with Gramary. Betty Levin has a sheep farm in Lincoln, Massachusetts, where she also raises and trains sheepdogs.In Her Own Words...

"I started writing stories almost as soon as I began to read. They were derivative and predictable-as much a way of revisiting characters and places in books I loved as it was a means of self-expression. I don't remember when words and their use became important. In the beginning was the story, and for a long time it was all that mattered.

"Even though I always wrote, I imagined becoming an explorer or an animal trainer. This was long before I had to be gainfully employed. It wasn't until after I'd landed in the workplace, first in museum research and then in teaching, that I returned to story writing-this time for my young children. Then a fellowship in creative writing at the Bunting Institute of Radcliffe College gave me and my storymaking a chance. One affirmation led to another, and now there are books-and some readers.

"When I talk with children in schools and libraries, I realize that child readers are still out there. When they get excited about a character or a scene, a new dimension opens for them, a new way of seeing and feeling and understanding.

"Of course there is always one child who asks how it feels to be famous and to be recognized in supermarkets. I explain that the only people who recognize me are those who have seen me working my sheep dogs or selling my wool at sheep fairs. That response often prompts another query: Why write books if they don't make you rich and famous? I usually toss that question back at the children. Why do they invent stories? How does story writing make them feel?

"Eventually we explore the distinction between wanting to be a writer and needing to write. If we want to write, then we must and will. Whether or not we become published authors, we all have tales to tell and stories to share. Literature can only continue to grow from the roots of our collective experience if children understand that they are born creative and that all humans are myth users and storytellers."

From School Library Journal

Grade 5-8-Zanna is drawn to Moss, the Border Collie penned up in the Catherwood's barn. And as she slowly learns how to train this dog for herding sheep, she also finds herself developing a bond with his owner, Rob, a stroke victim no longer able to work with his dog. Her affection for the two grows as she begins to understand Rob's attempts to communicate with her in order to help her train Moss. Then the news of her family's moving away threatens to tear Zanna's world apart and everything she has come to love. Levin shows great insight into the recovery process of stroke patients as well as the training of Border Collies. However, the novel is unfocused. A lengthy plot and unnecessary characters impede readers' involvement with the interaction between the girl, the dog, and the elderly man. And that basic story line is rich with complex emotions as each individual struggles to overcome barriers to gain a sense of trust and accomplishment in themselves and in one another. Young adolescents in similar situations could be inspired by the intentions in this enjoyable, but uneven novel.
Jana R. Fine, Clearwater Public Library System, FL
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: Greenwillow Books
• Publication date: 1994
• ISBN 10: 0688134394
• ISBN 13: 9780688134396
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 192