‘So, are you my dog?’ Mitch whispered, hardly daring to ask.
‘No,’ said Argos. ‘But you are my boy. For a time.’
Mitch’s life has been uprooted. Instead of the whole family moving to a new city, Mitch and his sister are staying with their gran while their parents are stuck on the other side of the world. As he struggles to fit in at school, with the Grade Five bully picking on him, Mitch knows the one thing that would make his life better is a dog. If only he could persuade his parents.
Then Mitch discovers an old oak tree that seems to … growl. And one night, a strange, majestic dog-like creature emerges from the trunk. His name is Argos. He has been bound in the tree by ‘history, mystery, magic and chance’ and he is here to help Mitch find his way.
While at first Mitch looks to Argos for friendship and protection, there comes a time he must stand up for this wild and magical beast.
A heart-lifting tale of friendship, courage and belonging by three-time CBCA Award-winning author Fiona Wood.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are respectfully cautioned that this website contains images of people who have passed away.
The Boy and the Dog Tree
by
Magical. Whimsical. Wild. This exceptional middle-grade novel about the special bond between a boy and his dog will set your heart free.
Fiona Wood
Fiona Wood is a three-time winner of the CBCA Book of the Year for Older Readers. Her interlinked young adult novels, Six Impossible Things, Wildlife and Cloudwish, are published internationally. Take Three Girls, co-written with Cath Crowley and Simmone Howell, was honoured by the International Youth Library as a White Ravens selection. Fiona’s debut middle fiction title, How to Spell Catastrophe, was shortlisted for the Children’s Peace Literature Award in 2023. She lives in Naarm/Melbourne with her family.
