JED, The Shepherd's Dog

A popular novelist turns once again- as she did in the beguiling , the Fishbite years ago- to a story of family life for children. In a Scottish shepherd's cottage lived Martha and Tommy with their father, mother, and Jed, a border collie. Slow readers will find sustenance- and enough action- in this pleasant story of the hearthside and heather, where Jed was guardian of the children's safety. Although there isn't much originality in the episodes of danger, when Martha almost drowns and Tom is lost, with Jed of course the rescuer, nonetheless the telling communicates a sense of warm home life and the security and unity of a plucky family. The theft of Jed by wandering tinkers, his recovery and triumph in the Sheep Dog Trials add color to the story of a dog, who like Lassie was a vital member of the family.