• Age: 9 to 12
• Grade: 4 to 7
• Reading age: 9 to 12

Dickon wasn't happy in his old home or his old school. He hopes that in his new neighborhood he will meet children who never knew his old, hyper self, who will like him for who he is now. And he hopes for a dog of his own. Dickon's mother calls him Birdie. She feeds him milk from a teddy bear mug. She worries if he's out of her sight for a moment and she knows how filthy and vicious dogs can be. Dickon is delighted to discover that the Humane Society is right on the other side of the fence behind the new house, but only by disobeying his mother will he ever get close to a real dog.

Jean Little was born in Taiwan in 1932. Her parents were both doctors. Jean grew up in Ontario and graduated from the University of Toronto. She was born with a severe eye problem and is severely visually impaired. A special "talking" computer assists her with her writing. She has a retired seeing-eye dog named Ritz and a new one named Pippa, with whom she travels. The author focuses on her experiences from the time she was a child through young adulthood in her autobiography, Little by Little, and continues her story in Stars Come Out Within. The books, which will appeal to children 10 and older, are both humorous and poignant as Jean describes living with a disability and the ridicule she sometimes experienced as a result, as well as her love for the world of reading and books. Jean's books include From Anna, Listen for the Singing, Stand In The Wind, Mama's Going To Buy You a Mockingbird, Hey World, Here I Am!, Look through My Window, Emma's Yucky Brother, The Belonging Place, and Mine For Keeps. Listen for the Singing was the Canada Council Children's Literature Award winner in 1977. Mama's Going to Buy You a Mockingbird was the CLA Book of the Year in 1985.
Jean Little's first book, Mine for Keeps, won the Little, Brown Children's Book Award in 1962 and was republished by Viking Penguin in 1995. It tells the story of Sally Copeland, a 10 year old with cerebral palsy, and her adjustment to being home after spending several years in a special school. You'll find that several of the themes in this book appear in a number of the author's other books: dealing with a handicap and the responses of others, fitting in, and adjusting to new situations and surroundings.
http://www.jeanlittle.com/

Jean Little's profile page

• Short-listed, Red Cedar nominee
• Short-listed, CLA Book of the Year for Children nominee
• Commended, CCBC Our Choice
• Commended, Canadian Toy Testing Council Great Books
• Commended, Resource Links "The Year's Best"
• Short-listed, ASPCA Henry Bergh Award nominee

"The emphasis that this book puts on relationships and their development makes it an outstanding read."

CM Magazine

"Fast-paced action and lively dialogue transport readers through conflict, challenge, suspense, and satisfactory resolution."

Quill & Quire

"This is an enjoyable book."

Resource Links

"A satisfying and heartwarming story."

School Library Journal

"Little certainly knows what interests kids and how to tell a satisfying story."

Booklist

"In no time the reader is launched into a wonderful story of the hero-s yearning for a dog."

St. Catharine's Standard