The Hunter and His Dog

This book has gorgeous illustrations, as you would expect from Wildsmith, and it has a story that promotes kindness and mercy for animals. My two little girls adore hearing this story read aloud. The dog persuades the hunter to have a heart for the animals he has injured, and the hunter eventually sees the error of his ways. Wildsmith's illustrations seem to be a reflection of the beauty in his soul.

This is really a fantastic book. It teaches a real lesson, not a contrived one like so many children's books, and by example (of the dog), not just by preaching. The subject is treatment of animals and the morality of hunting, and of making decisions for oneself, despite one's training (programming?). Some parents are squirrely about the words deal or kill or hunt, but I think literature is a great place to introduce these things, because you can TALK about them, unlike in a kids' movie, where you are the last thing in the room they will pay attention to. And if the story isn't good enough, the illustrations (as in everything by Brian Wildsmith) are just breathtakingly beautiful. The length of the book is long enough to help children establish a decent attention span, but not so long as to be unreasonable to expect them to listen. We were lucky enough to get this for a shower gift before our first daughter was born, and are so grateful to have had it. A great book for yourself or for a gift. HIGHLY recommended for all ages.

This tells the story of a trained hunting dog that just doesn't have the heart to bring the ducks back to his owner. He turns the hunter around and they both care for the injured ducks instead of hunting & killing.I do not believe in hunting and I think this a gentle message and story to read to my young son, regarding his family's values and beliefs. It is very hard to find books with such heart-warming messages.I highly recommend this book to anyone wanting to open up the world to their children in a refreshing way and not just the way "everyone else goes about life".The illustrations are similar to "The Kiss" style and my 9-month old loves the bold colors and open spaces.Thank you, Mr. Wildsmith, for opening readers' eyes to the sadness and pain hunting creates.