STEVE AND THE GUIDE DOGS

At first the prospect of taking a Guide Dog puppy to raise for a 4-H project doesn't appeal to Steve; he wants a dog for keeps. The idea grows on him, however, especially when he realizes that the dog would have to be his alone for the nine months of his stay, and therefore off limits for his strong-willed, animal-loving grandmother. But it is two years before Steve raises a dog successfully. His own carelessness causes the death of the first pup, Lobo; the unpredictable personality of the second, Gambol, makes him unsatisfactory as a Guide Dog. But the third, aptly named Pround, is a winner, and Steve, of course, has done some growing up in the process. The characters and the dialogue are substantial. As in the author's previous book, Screwball, (1963, p. 318, J-112) the firmness and purpose of the story weighs a bit too heavily and would have benefited through the presence of some humor both to relieve and underline the intensity of the theme. Nevertheless, it is an outstanding story and the book will have an assured audience.