Berta: A Remarkable Dog

Mary St. Onge-Davidson is president of the Essential English Centre in
Ottawa.

Berta seems like a very ordinary little dachshund. She lives with young
Marjory Miller and her parents in a house with a barn that is rapidly
filling up with young farm animals. It’s a damp, cool Canadian spring,
and some of the baby animals need extra care. Berta has not yet
experienced motherhood, but her nurturing instincts kick in and she soon
becomes an indispensable member of the hobby-farming family.

Celia Barker Lottridge, winner of the 2002 Mr. Christie Award for the
Little Rooster and the Diamond Button, has written a number of
well-loved children stories. Berta combines fine storytelling,
information about animal behavior, and smooth black-and-white
illustrations. All in all, a good addition to the early reader’s
library. Recommended.