A DOG ON HIS OWN: A SHORT STORY OF BOYS AND GIRLS Diane J. Wieler. Winnipeg, Prairie Publishing, c1983. 12pp, paper, $3.95. ISBN 0-919576-01-X. Grades 3 and up. Reviewed by Margaret Marsh. Volume 12 Number 3 1984 May The author's dedication to A Dog on His Own, "To Mothers and Fathers, Boys and Girls the Whole World Over," gives some indication of the broad appeal this short story will have. Dog is wild, living on his own, shunning both human and animal companionship, riving a life of "perfect freedom," until one summer when he becomes lost in a trackless forest and, half starved and near death, stumbles across a clearing where a man lives alone with his young daughter, Lori. The two live alone in the bush, far from contact with civilization, because of the man's dislike and distrust of people. In fact, his philosophy is remarkably similar to Dog's: "We don't need nothin' from nobody." As Dog regains his strength, he feels he must leave Lori and her father, but little by little, without really wanting to, he slips into the life surrounding the log house in the clearing. How both man and Dog come to realize that "You can't do without other people" makes a touching and poignant story that will be often read, well loved, and long remembered. Recommended Margaret Marsh, Waterloo County Board of Education, Kitchener, ON.