BOOKS: One in a Million

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, August/September 1996:

One in a Million
by Nicholas Read
Sirius Books (1011 Commercial Dr.,
Vancouver, BC V5L 3X1)
1996, 144 pages, $5.95 paperback.

Dumped as a pup, Joey is a
German shepherd cross and the title character
of One in a Million.

Starting with a master who refuses
to get Joey’s mother spayed (and drops off a
litter at the shelter every six months),
Nicholas Read tells a charming and convincing
tale. Young readers follow Joey’s first
year of life: adopted, neglected, misunderstood,
returned, and watching his best friend
Mick “disappear” after coming down with
kennel cough. Adopted a second time only
to find himself one day away from returning
to the shelter again, Joey earns the title of
the book and is spared his third incarceration.
Read’s non-humans talk to each
other when out of sight of people. This
allows Mick to tell Joey all about shelter life
from a dog’s point of view. What better way
to learn about shelter realities than through a
resident’s eyes? One in a Million is a fine
addition to a young person’s reading list.
––Joseph Connelly