BARLEY

A trail dog recounts his eventful life from puppyhood to retirement in this children’s book.

A dog named John Q. Barleycorn has a lot to learn when he’s adopted by Big Guy, the cook and equine wrangler for an outfitter company in New Mexico’s Gila Wilderness, part of a large, pristine area that has been federally protected since 1924. Through Barley’s eyes and engaging first-person narration, readers will experience what it is like to be out in untamed nature, where the only means of travel permitted is on foot or via horse or mule. Barley finds his place in his new trail-dog pack (there’s a hierarchy) and meets the saddle horses and pack mules (they aren’t just big dogs, as he first thought; they can kick an unwary canine, and they can panic when they spot a rattlesnake). On the trail with beloved Big Guy and his crew, Barley observes the “Tall Folks” (his name for humans), including the outfitter’s clients: campers, hunters, fishers, photographers, and writers. He learns the hard way to avoid skunks and porcupines and teams up with his hound friend, Daisy, to sniff out a camp thief (a raccoon), tree a mountain lion, and watch an epic clash between a feral bull and a bear. With deliberate care, Huff weaves in lessons about teamwork, what is needed to prepare for a camping trip and to stay safe, and the importance of protecting nature. Throughout the novel, Barley’s high spirits and thoughtful observations are shaped with an uplifting sense of the author’s love for the story’s setting. On Barley’s first morning in the mountains, he wakes up to “the most wonderful smell in the world. Thousands of pine trees giving off pure oxygen, wildflowers bursting out greeting spring, the special smell of free running water, and all that wrapped up with thousands of acres of freedom.” (The work includes a dozen small pencil images by debut illustrator Jones and a photograph of a dog.)

A lively canine voice, outdoor adventures, and life lessons in a real-world wilderness setting.