Skip to content 
- gripping true story of a remarkable collie dog named Lad
- Lad survives all sorts of adventures, sometimes being badly hurt or mistreated, often coming out as the hero
- language: x2 freak, x1 idiot, x1 Good L*rd, x1 gee, x1 stupid
- convo: Lad thinks of his master & mistress as the god and goddess (illuminating his loyalty to them), cigar mentioned, gun/shooting mentioned
Type: chapter book
Ages: 10-15
Author: Albert Payson Terhune
This book is sure to pull on the heartstrings of readers of any age, though not in the same way as, say, Where the Red Fern Grows. The ordering of the chapters (each its own tale) is done in such a way that intense scenes are broken up by more mild ones.
Lad is part of a beautiful home and family, along with a few other dogs that occasionally enter the story. His owners love him and care well for him, except for times they punish him for a wrong they thought he did, only to find out later he was innocent of it. (They are very repentant when this happens.)
The overall writing style was both sophisticated and a joy to read. Though a number of the chapters were emotionally difficult, it was all so well-written that it made for rich literature. The intensity of a few scenes combined with difficult vocabulary is how I landed on the minimum of 10 years old, but feel free to adjust that for your particular family’s needs.
Highly recommend this timeless tale!
