num_pages: 212
description: Received the NY Herald Tribune award for Best Children's Book, 1952. Originally a Junior Literary Guild Selection of the Westminster Press, it can now be found in the Macmillan Reading Spectrum for children.
  OUTLAW DOG!
A blizzard threatened the North Dakota Badlands, and Dwight Jerome was herding his father's sheep across the road back to the ranch. That was when he first saw the magnificent big mutt who filled the back seat of a car from New York.When the storm broke, the Easterners were afraid of being snowed in for days in the car. They abandoned the dog.The big mutt slept out the storm in a coyote's den. When he awoke, he was famished -- and his nose led him to sheep.To the ranchers, any dog that kills sheep is doomed. A posse is sent out to track the outlaw down. But Dwight believes that Wolves are doing most of the slaughter, and he is determined to save the big mutt."Set in teh sheep-raising country of North Dakota...it successfully combines a moving dog story with exciting adventure."--The New York Times"...a freshly exciting and absorbing story... no one who takes it up will put it down willingly, nor soon to forget." --New York Herald Tribune"The dog's fight to live and the boy's efforts to save and reclaim him are told with gripping suspense and realism." --A.L.A. Booklist"A gripping, realistic picture of the North Dakota Badlands in a time of bitter cold and blizzard when wolves prey on sheep. Big Mutt, an abandoned dog, must kill to live but eventually proves his value as a sheepdog and justifies a young boy's supreme faith in him."--Library Journal"...this realistic story of a boy, of dogs and sheep and wolves has some unforgettable scenes... There are graphic details of the posse's search for Big Mutt, of a lambing season, and, throughout, of the intensity of conflict and devotion between animals and men."--Horn Book"Without being in the least sentimental, it has both drama and pathos. Big Mutt is an exceptionally good dog character."--Saturday Review
language: English
title: Big Mutt
titlecomplete: Big Mutt
genres: Animals
ratings_count: 51
publisher: Washington Square Press