The Dog Who Stopped the War

Edwin G. Higgins was a freelance writer in Sudbury, Ontario.

As the Christmas holiday approaches, the Grade 6 teacher has a show-and-tell of favourite possessions. Among these are Mark’s St. Bernard and Luke’s grandfather’s bugle. From these the boys decide to fight a snow war over the holidays. Using an old barn as one base, Mark’s group build a snow fort on a nearby hill. The situation is complicated with the arrival of Sophie and her sister Lucy as new girls in town. The girls have active imaginations and a series of situations develops between attackers and defenders. The defenders employ paint-filled snowballs, a phony door, and a secret exit at the rear of the fort. The attackers respond with makeshift armour and paint protectors made from garbage bags. Luke, with his bugle, is attack leader and enlists the small children of the village with candies. During the final attack Mark’s younger brother Ralph changes sides and digs a hole into the fort. Cleo, chained in disgrace for a paint accident, breaks loose and joins the children. Seeking Mark she burrows into Ralph’s tunnel as the children storm over the wall. The wall collapses and Cleo is smothered. This saddens the children and they bury her in the floor of the old barn. Luke wins Lucy’s admiration

when he drops the silk cord from his bugle into Cleo’s grave. The event saddens the children and ends the war as the holiday ends.

Betty Waterton demonstrates her understanding of how children’s minds work. She moves easily from conversation to emotions to imagination and fantasy. She clearly differentiates between the world of adults and the world of children. The social levels between young children and grade sixers is clearly defined and the attitudes understood. The book should appeal to pre-teen groups, who will readily visualize the images she develops.