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The Leanin' Dog
More than anything, Dessa Dean needed a friend. A friend to love and confide in, a friend with whom she could share her heart. A friend who would delight in all the beauty and joy and fun of Christmas, only four days away.
Hope had just about run out, but then . . . there came a scratchin' at the door and Dessa Dean's life was forever changed.
Hope had just about run out, but then . . . there came a scratchin' at the door and Dessa Dean's life was forever changed.
256 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2008
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August 31, 2008
My Review of The Leanin’ Dog by K. A. Nuzum
K. A. Nuzum’s new book, The Leanin’ Dog, tells a first person narrative story about a young girl named Dessa Dean who is eleven years old. The story takes place during the winter in Colorado in the 1930s just before Christmas. Dessa is a lonely child who desperately needs a friend, especially since her mother died. She thinks she will never be happy again. Dessa is trapped. She is a victim of her own mind’s fear, the fear of leaving her home, known as agoraphobia. To make it harder, Dessa doesn’t want her father to know about this fear. He has enough to deal with.
While Father tries to keep things at home going by keeping the wood pile for the stove for food and warmth, he also tries to help Dessa with her school work. Along with that, he tries really hard to kill some animal for their dinner so that Christmas can be special. As father struggles with these things, Dessa still tries to stop what she calls the daymares and tries to keep Father from finding out about them. When Dessa’s ears starts to ache, she knows a period of “losing Mama pain” is beginning. Her ears hurt as her memory takes her back to when her mother died and Dessa’s ears had been frostbitten. She was holding her mother in the snow waiting for someone to find them even though their footprints were blotted away by the snowstorm. That horrible time when her mother died in her arms is something Dessa can’t forget and therefore, she continues to have these nightmares (daymares) and can’t force herself outside the house.
What helps Dessa to deal with the pain and tragedy in her life comes in the form of a canine friend. A stray dog comes into Dessa’s life and gives her someone to love again. The dog is just what she needs--a friend. Here is someone to tell her troubles to and share her secrets with as well as her heart. Dessa finds in the dog a friend who can help her deal with her paralyzing fear of leaving the house. Oddly enough, the dog has a fear as well. He doesn’t like to be closed up in small places. When she finally coaxes him into the house and goes to close the door, he is upset and she realizes she must leave the door partly open as this dog also has a fear of something—a fear of being in small, enclosed spaces known as claustrophobia. In order to ease his fear, the open door adds to Dessa’s problems as it causes the piled up wood to burn quicker and invites marauders to the home.
Slowly, with each friend allowing for the other’s fear to be gently guarded, Dessa begins to find the happiness she has lost and this helps her with her father as well. Together, the three of them help each other to get through the tragedy of losing Dessa’s mother and the joy of the holiday season.
Submitted by Karen Haney, August, 2008
K. A. Nuzum’s new book, The Leanin’ Dog, tells a first person narrative story about a young girl named Dessa Dean who is eleven years old. The story takes place during the winter in Colorado in the 1930s just before Christmas. Dessa is a lonely child who desperately needs a friend, especially since her mother died. She thinks she will never be happy again. Dessa is trapped. She is a victim of her own mind’s fear, the fear of leaving her home, known as agoraphobia. To make it harder, Dessa doesn’t want her father to know about this fear. He has enough to deal with.
While Father tries to keep things at home going by keeping the wood pile for the stove for food and warmth, he also tries to help Dessa with her school work. Along with that, he tries really hard to kill some animal for their dinner so that Christmas can be special. As father struggles with these things, Dessa still tries to stop what she calls the daymares and tries to keep Father from finding out about them. When Dessa’s ears starts to ache, she knows a period of “losing Mama pain” is beginning. Her ears hurt as her memory takes her back to when her mother died and Dessa’s ears had been frostbitten. She was holding her mother in the snow waiting for someone to find them even though their footprints were blotted away by the snowstorm. That horrible time when her mother died in her arms is something Dessa can’t forget and therefore, she continues to have these nightmares (daymares) and can’t force herself outside the house.
What helps Dessa to deal with the pain and tragedy in her life comes in the form of a canine friend. A stray dog comes into Dessa’s life and gives her someone to love again. The dog is just what she needs--a friend. Here is someone to tell her troubles to and share her secrets with as well as her heart. Dessa finds in the dog a friend who can help her deal with her paralyzing fear of leaving the house. Oddly enough, the dog has a fear as well. He doesn’t like to be closed up in small places. When she finally coaxes him into the house and goes to close the door, he is upset and she realizes she must leave the door partly open as this dog also has a fear of something—a fear of being in small, enclosed spaces known as claustrophobia. In order to ease his fear, the open door adds to Dessa’s problems as it causes the piled up wood to burn quicker and invites marauders to the home.
Slowly, with each friend allowing for the other’s fear to be gently guarded, Dessa begins to find the happiness she has lost and this helps her with her father as well. Together, the three of them help each other to get through the tragedy of losing Dessa’s mother and the joy of the holiday season.
Submitted by Karen Haney, August, 2008
November 24, 2018
I thought this book was okay. At some parts I thought the story was exciting and at others I thought the story was just dragging along. If you like animal books you should try reading this book, but I was not a fan so I would not recommend it.
December 31, 2023
My favorite book from childhood was the best way to end the year. Dessa Dean, I resonate with you so much. Arlo is my Leanin’ Dog
January 18, 2010
After sitting beside her mother in the snow and watching her slowly freeze to death, Dessa Dean has nightmares, daymares, and the inability to leave the porch of the cabin where she and her father live. She spends each day alone, studying her lessons and cooking for the two of them, grieving, while her father tends his traps set in the wild. Then a dog with an injured leg appears on the front porch and Dessa Dean seizes the opportunity to have a friend share her loneliness. But the dog is wary, and Dessa Dean has to win him over--and then she has to convince her father that the dog should be allowed to stay, no small feat when the creature begins to eat them out of house and home.
This is a touching story of a child's grief and the dog who finally brought some joy into her life.
This is a touching story of a child's grief and the dog who finally brought some joy into her life.
February 6, 2009
I'm loving this on CD. There's nothing like a dog to set a girl right after a big loss! At first the rhythm of the reading was too slow and the enunciation too precise, but it grew on me to the point of appreciation. I recognize that this style really fits the pace of the story and of the often old fashioned language. The narrator has also perfected a realistic bark!
December 2, 2016
Toward the end of "The Leanin' Dog," by K.A. Nuzum, the 11-year-old heroine and narrator Dessa Dean says, "I drew in a deep breath of the brand-new day's frosty air, and felt it chill my insides in a pleasing way," (p. 241). This book is about finding a way to be vibrant and free again, to push fresh air through one's lungs, after a heart-wrenching tragedy. In Ms. Dean's case that tragedy is the horrifying death of her mother, which she witnessed in the wilderness that had once given her such joy.
As an only child, she was raised with the outdoors. Her father taught her how to identify animal tracks and her mother taught her how to grow a garden. That was where she dreamed as well. "We [Dessa and her mother] took long walks in the summer, too, miles from our cabin, way out under the blue sky, so high and wide. I'd lie right out in the open, on the sun-warmed bank of Willow Creek, and Mama and I would pick out pirate ships and elephants in the clouds," (p. 7).
But then Jack Frost steals her mother's life and the world beyond the door of her family's cabin seems cruel. She suffers from nightmares and daymares, in which she relives her mother's last moments in a form of post-traumatic stress disorder, along with understandable agoraphobia and frostbitten ears. Her torment is physical and emotional. Her father, a trapper, who is kind but gruff, tries to help her but it's difficult without the gentle and soothing ways of the mother and wife they both desperately miss.
But the sentence on the cover of "The Leanin' Dog" is "Angels are everywhere," with the drawing of a brown dog, her intent gaze focused on the reader. So there is hope for Dessa Dean and her father. I eagerly anticipated the arrival of the four-legged heroine and when she came, "a scratching on the door," my heart was beating faster in my chest because I knew that happiness had found its way to that cabin. As someone who has loved a dog for 18 years and who volunteers at a no-kill shelter, I understand their healing powers. The stray one in the book is no exception. Ms. Nuzum, who has five dogs according to her bio, describes the mysterious visitor in lively detail. "Fudge-brown was the color of her coat, and the white snow piled up in a broad stripe down her back from her ears to her wagging tail. She was so big, her head was wide and square, and her flopped-over ears were a deeper brown than her body. She had them pricked, listening to me, and they looked like they were straining to stand up all the way. Her tail was long and feathered along its bottom edge. She was beautiful," (p.23).
She describes the way this dog behaves in a way that anyone who has been lucky enough to care for one will recognize. For instance, the dog circles several times before she lays down. It is a behavior Dessa Dean finds amusingly quirky until she realizes it hearkens back to a time when their ancestors lived completely outdoors.
What worries her, however, is that like herself, the dog has an injury and a reason to be distrustful. Something happened to her right front paw. She doesn't put weight on it. It is not in line with the rest of her body when she runs.
How they help each other cope with their challenges is part of a genuine and moving struggle in the book. They must both show real gumption to overcome the trials that test them, in a time and a place that isn't clearly defined, but feels like pioneering days. There is a woodburning stove and a kerosene lamp. The story takes place mostly within the cabin, and there's scant reference to the politics or culture of the time. There are no visitors, at least human ones, and Ms. Dean says that her family lived in town when she was "real young," but moved to the cabin after jobs became scarce.
Some of the words and phrases used are also from another era. For example, Dessa Dean uses the word "mayhap," which according to Oxford Dictionaries is the archaic form of " Perhaps; possibly." p.73 https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/def... This use of language seems at the same time more innocent and colloquial. But Ms. Dean's world is not quaint. It is one of gritty self-reliance, where a meal on the table is not guaranteed.
But Dessa Dean's caring disposition softens the story. She wants so badly to keep her mother's memory alive and make her father proud, while trying to gain the trust of an injured animal. Wonder is always present, despite the hardship in this story. She reads aloud "The Arabian Nights," to the dog, stories she treasured with her mother. At Christmastime, there is a homemade Advent calendar and other decorations. Ms. Nuzum's beautiful descriptions of nature remind the reader why it is so important for Dessa Dean to take that crucial step beyond her front porch. "The sun was creeping up over the canyon and turning its east-facing wall all pink, and the winter sky was going from gray to a shy blue,"(p. 241). Ah, a blue sky. There's nothing like it. And the name. Dessa Dean is searching for the right name for her new companion, something meaningful, something the dog will identify as familiar so that when she calls it out into the vast wintry landscape that sweet dog will recognize it and come running back to her.
As an only child, she was raised with the outdoors. Her father taught her how to identify animal tracks and her mother taught her how to grow a garden. That was where she dreamed as well. "We [Dessa and her mother] took long walks in the summer, too, miles from our cabin, way out under the blue sky, so high and wide. I'd lie right out in the open, on the sun-warmed bank of Willow Creek, and Mama and I would pick out pirate ships and elephants in the clouds," (p. 7).
But then Jack Frost steals her mother's life and the world beyond the door of her family's cabin seems cruel. She suffers from nightmares and daymares, in which she relives her mother's last moments in a form of post-traumatic stress disorder, along with understandable agoraphobia and frostbitten ears. Her torment is physical and emotional. Her father, a trapper, who is kind but gruff, tries to help her but it's difficult without the gentle and soothing ways of the mother and wife they both desperately miss.
But the sentence on the cover of "The Leanin' Dog" is "Angels are everywhere," with the drawing of a brown dog, her intent gaze focused on the reader. So there is hope for Dessa Dean and her father. I eagerly anticipated the arrival of the four-legged heroine and when she came, "a scratching on the door," my heart was beating faster in my chest because I knew that happiness had found its way to that cabin. As someone who has loved a dog for 18 years and who volunteers at a no-kill shelter, I understand their healing powers. The stray one in the book is no exception. Ms. Nuzum, who has five dogs according to her bio, describes the mysterious visitor in lively detail. "Fudge-brown was the color of her coat, and the white snow piled up in a broad stripe down her back from her ears to her wagging tail. She was so big, her head was wide and square, and her flopped-over ears were a deeper brown than her body. She had them pricked, listening to me, and they looked like they were straining to stand up all the way. Her tail was long and feathered along its bottom edge. She was beautiful," (p.23).
She describes the way this dog behaves in a way that anyone who has been lucky enough to care for one will recognize. For instance, the dog circles several times before she lays down. It is a behavior Dessa Dean finds amusingly quirky until she realizes it hearkens back to a time when their ancestors lived completely outdoors.
What worries her, however, is that like herself, the dog has an injury and a reason to be distrustful. Something happened to her right front paw. She doesn't put weight on it. It is not in line with the rest of her body when she runs.
How they help each other cope with their challenges is part of a genuine and moving struggle in the book. They must both show real gumption to overcome the trials that test them, in a time and a place that isn't clearly defined, but feels like pioneering days. There is a woodburning stove and a kerosene lamp. The story takes place mostly within the cabin, and there's scant reference to the politics or culture of the time. There are no visitors, at least human ones, and Ms. Dean says that her family lived in town when she was "real young," but moved to the cabin after jobs became scarce.
Some of the words and phrases used are also from another era. For example, Dessa Dean uses the word "mayhap," which according to Oxford Dictionaries is the archaic form of " Perhaps; possibly." p.73 https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/def... This use of language seems at the same time more innocent and colloquial. But Ms. Dean's world is not quaint. It is one of gritty self-reliance, where a meal on the table is not guaranteed.
But Dessa Dean's caring disposition softens the story. She wants so badly to keep her mother's memory alive and make her father proud, while trying to gain the trust of an injured animal. Wonder is always present, despite the hardship in this story. She reads aloud "The Arabian Nights," to the dog, stories she treasured with her mother. At Christmastime, there is a homemade Advent calendar and other decorations. Ms. Nuzum's beautiful descriptions of nature remind the reader why it is so important for Dessa Dean to take that crucial step beyond her front porch. "The sun was creeping up over the canyon and turning its east-facing wall all pink, and the winter sky was going from gray to a shy blue,"(p. 241). Ah, a blue sky. There's nothing like it. And the name. Dessa Dean is searching for the right name for her new companion, something meaningful, something the dog will identify as familiar so that when she calls it out into the vast wintry landscape that sweet dog will recognize it and come running back to her.
October 14, 2025
The Leanin' Dog by K.A Nuzum is a really great book. It features many different aspects of fine literature. I rate this book a 4/5, the book was a really great book. Though, some parts were too chaotic for my liking. If you like a chaotic book, with tons of twists and things you can relate too in real life, this book is for you.
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May 7, 2021I got this book for a summer reading program prize...and I DNF'd it about halfway through.
I felt like it lacked plot and was just kind of slow at times. I couldn't sympathize with the main character, and from what I remember, a lot of the book was just her sitting at home all day during a blizzard.
Maybe I'll give this a read again someday, but overall, it just didn't capture my attention and was just slow. Since I didn't finish it, I won't rate it. :)
I felt like it lacked plot and was just kind of slow at times. I couldn't sympathize with the main character, and from what I remember, a lot of the book was just her sitting at home all day during a blizzard.
Maybe I'll give this a read again someday, but overall, it just didn't capture my attention and was just slow. Since I didn't finish it, I won't rate it. :)
September 29, 2009
Let me begin by saying that I haven't been assigned a book report in a really long time! So when my daughter's teacher asked if I could read a book she was thinking about for one of her book groups, I was actually pretty thrilled. Since I was writing up a report for her, I thought I'd post it here as well:
Dessa Dean began her life in a town, but moved with her parents to a trapper’s cabin in the mountains when work dried up for her father. Now he makes a living trapping animals, selling their pelts, and they live off the meat he provides and the food they grow. The winters are harsh, and so every winter their family is snowed in, unable to get to town or to the one-room schoolhouse in the valley. So Dessa Dean’s education comes from her mother and father—about reading, writing, arithmetic, and also the world around them.
However, tragedy strikes their family when her mother dies while she and Dessa Dean are trapped outside in a snowstorm, unable to find their way home. And now, the girl who once loved the outdoors and could read all the animal signs in the wide world around her, is trapped in a prison of fear—unable to step off the front porch of her little cabin. She is lonely and sad, trying to fill her mother’s role in their lives, but aching with emptiness.
Into this sad scene comes a dog—a beautiful, fudge-colored dog with a red ruff and a lame front leg. She, too, is traumatized by something in her past and slow to trust someone new. But Dessa Dean is determined to help this dog, and for the first time in the forty-seven days since her mother’s death, she is able to feel something besides sadness, fear, and cold.
This is a lovely story of healing, as the dog and Dessa Dean reach out to each other, ultimately saving each other in both literal and figurative ways. The setting is ambiguous—there is no name given for the mountains or state they live in, and no specific time period, although it is likely early to mid 1800’s. The scene of her mother’s death is heart-wrenching, but not gruesome. There is much of interest in learning about the daily details of Dessa Dean’s life and home education, but the great story here is of the love between parents and child, and the healing power of service and friendship.
Dessa Dean began her life in a town, but moved with her parents to a trapper’s cabin in the mountains when work dried up for her father. Now he makes a living trapping animals, selling their pelts, and they live off the meat he provides and the food they grow. The winters are harsh, and so every winter their family is snowed in, unable to get to town or to the one-room schoolhouse in the valley. So Dessa Dean’s education comes from her mother and father—about reading, writing, arithmetic, and also the world around them.
However, tragedy strikes their family when her mother dies while she and Dessa Dean are trapped outside in a snowstorm, unable to find their way home. And now, the girl who once loved the outdoors and could read all the animal signs in the wide world around her, is trapped in a prison of fear—unable to step off the front porch of her little cabin. She is lonely and sad, trying to fill her mother’s role in their lives, but aching with emptiness.
Into this sad scene comes a dog—a beautiful, fudge-colored dog with a red ruff and a lame front leg. She, too, is traumatized by something in her past and slow to trust someone new. But Dessa Dean is determined to help this dog, and for the first time in the forty-seven days since her mother’s death, she is able to feel something besides sadness, fear, and cold.
This is a lovely story of healing, as the dog and Dessa Dean reach out to each other, ultimately saving each other in both literal and figurative ways. The setting is ambiguous—there is no name given for the mountains or state they live in, and no specific time period, although it is likely early to mid 1800’s. The scene of her mother’s death is heart-wrenching, but not gruesome. There is much of interest in learning about the daily details of Dessa Dean’s life and home education, but the great story here is of the love between parents and child, and the healing power of service and friendship.
April 17, 2011
From October 2008 SLJ:
Gr 4–7— Dessa Dean, 11, was a powerless witness as her diabetic mother froze to death when they were caught in an early-winter storm. Since then, she and her father have gone through the motions of normalcy, with him going out daily to check the traps while she stays behind to do the schoolwork he prepares and to fix their meager dinner. But things are not normal: Dessa Dean frequently relives the horror of her mother's death, and she is unable to make herself venture beyond the steps of their isolated Colorado cabin. The week before Christmas, though, an injured dog comes sniffing around. Dessa Dean's initial attempts to befriend it fail: the jittery animal has apparently been abused and keeps her distance. Repeated efforts pay off, but even when the dog allows Dessa Dean to approach her, she remains on edge around the girl's father. As another storm nears, he is having no success with his hunting forays and has little patience for a dog that will only stay inside when the door is open to the frigid air. Dessa Dean is caught between her growing feelings for the animal and her father's concern over their basic survival. This story of an agoraphobic girl and a claustrophobic dog and how they slowly move one another toward hope could have been maudlin, but Nuzum's pacing and spare, poetic narrative create something quite wonderful. The novel will draw comparisons to Kate DiCamillo's Because of Winn-Dixie (Candlewick, 2000), but it is certainly not a Winn-Dixie wannabe. This is a beautiful story in which friendship and the power of being needed trump despair.—Kim Dare, Fairfax County Public Schools, VA
Gr 4–7— Dessa Dean, 11, was a powerless witness as her diabetic mother froze to death when they were caught in an early-winter storm. Since then, she and her father have gone through the motions of normalcy, with him going out daily to check the traps while she stays behind to do the schoolwork he prepares and to fix their meager dinner. But things are not normal: Dessa Dean frequently relives the horror of her mother's death, and she is unable to make herself venture beyond the steps of their isolated Colorado cabin. The week before Christmas, though, an injured dog comes sniffing around. Dessa Dean's initial attempts to befriend it fail: the jittery animal has apparently been abused and keeps her distance. Repeated efforts pay off, but even when the dog allows Dessa Dean to approach her, she remains on edge around the girl's father. As another storm nears, he is having no success with his hunting forays and has little patience for a dog that will only stay inside when the door is open to the frigid air. Dessa Dean is caught between her growing feelings for the animal and her father's concern over their basic survival. This story of an agoraphobic girl and a claustrophobic dog and how they slowly move one another toward hope could have been maudlin, but Nuzum's pacing and spare, poetic narrative create something quite wonderful. The novel will draw comparisons to Kate DiCamillo's Because of Winn-Dixie (Candlewick, 2000), but it is certainly not a Winn-Dixie wannabe. This is a beautiful story in which friendship and the power of being needed trump despair.—Kim Dare, Fairfax County Public Schools, VA
October 2, 2012
I loved, loved, LOVED this book! The story line was captivating and I immediately fell in love with the main character. My heart went out to her and her father. When she befriends the dog, I could see the dog and the girl as they interacted with each other. The author's description of the dog as she plays with the girl is perfect (I am especially thinking of the pinecone scene...this dog must be a lab mix!) The ending is completely satisfying. If you are looking for a quick read or looking to recommend a book to a child(this book is for younger readers), then pick up a copy of The Leanin' Dog. I promise, you will not be disappointed.
March 24, 2020
Cute story about overcoming your fears and appreciating what you have.
Told in the first person, Dessa Dean needs a friend. Having recently lost her mother, she is living in a cabin far from town with just her father. It is winter and she is lonely and afraid to leave the cabin because of what happened, but doesn't want her father to worry about her. One day Dessa hears a scratching and finds a dog with a hurt paw. When an event occurs, Dessa finds the strength to leave the cabin. Slowly, the two start helping each other heal.
Told in the first person, Dessa Dean needs a friend. Having recently lost her mother, she is living in a cabin far from town with just her father. It is winter and she is lonely and afraid to leave the cabin because of what happened, but doesn't want her father to worry about her. One day Dessa hears a scratching and finds a dog with a hurt paw. When an event occurs, Dessa finds the strength to leave the cabin. Slowly, the two start helping each other heal.
January 25, 2009
Dessa Dean is recovering from the recent death of her mother and is struggling with her fear of the outdoors. One day, a rough looking dog appears on her doorstop and she soon finds out that the only way the dog will stay indoors - is with the door open! In the middle of winter in the mountains, this causes quite a few problems. Overall, this sweet story of how a dog and a girl help each other heal was quite enjoyable.
(And the dog doesn't die - a nice plus.)
(And the dog doesn't die - a nice plus.)
October 19, 2010
Another story in which a young child has lost a parent. This makes four for me in as many months. In this case it is Dessa Dean who has lost her mother to tragic circumstances and the heartache of dealing with that loss and learning to enjoy life again with the love and help of a stray dog and a supportive dad. I really liked Dessa Dean's gumption and grit. Even though she was having a difficult time, she kept on trying.
July 23, 2018
Just a short and easy read book but the story is very touching. A young girl loses her mother in the worse way possible and from that point on is scared of venturing out of her house until a big old dog just as scared as she is appears at their door. He becomes her angel and she his as so often happens with animals. Sad, funny and a fun book to read!
August 19, 2009
YES for our library.
The almost "slow like molasses" pace of this story perfectly matches its setting and characters are realistically drawn.
An excellent read for the classroom or for parents to read with their children. Many talking points.
The almost "slow like molasses" pace of this story perfectly matches its setting and characters are realistically drawn.
An excellent read for the classroom or for parents to read with their children. Many talking points.
November 13, 2012
Boring in the beginning but then it gets really good
May 24, 2012
i think this was a heart warming great story!
March 14, 2019
Questa per me è stata una lettura davvero particolare, avevo iniziato il romanzo in dicembre, aspettandomi una dolce storia natalizia, e invece ho dovuto ricredermi dopo poche pagine. Probabilmente sono stata ingannata dalla copertina delicata, o dalla trama che in realtà dice tutto e niente, fatto sta che mi sono trovata di fronte ad una lettura moralmente difficile da affrontare, seppur pensata per un pubblico adolescente. La nostra protagonista è Dessa Dean, che vive in completa solitudine sulle montagne del Colorado insieme al padre, e del loro stile di vita ho apprezzato la semplicità e l'importanza che viene data a ogni cosa, per quanto piccola o apparentemente insignificante. Penso che al giorno d'oggi sia importante insegnare ai ragazzi il rispetto per la natura e ad essere grati per ciò che hanno, e Dessa Dean ci mostra la vita attraverso gli occhi di una bambina la cui felicità è data una semplice barretta di cioccolato, da un calendario dell'avvento fatto a mano o da una scatola di colori. E per me, che sono legata alla natura e che ho trascorso l'infanzia nei boschi e in montagna, nella sperduta casa di mia nonna circondata solo da alberi e fiumi, questa storia è stata un bel tuffo nei ricordi. Quello che inizialmente non avevo capito è che il libro non è altro che la lunga elaborazione del lutto della giovane protagonista, rimasta traumatizzata dopo aver assistito alla morte della madre.
«La mia mamma adesso è un angelo, sai?» Mi sentivo sufficientemente rilassata per aprirle il mio cuore. Ma la mia voce era un sussurro. Perché, anche se volevo che il cane sapesse, preferivo non sentir pronunciare quelle parole troppo forte.
Da quel giorno la vita di Dessa Dean è popolata di incubi e di flashback e, in risposta al dolore e al trauma, arriva l'incapacità di muovere un solo passo oltre la veranda di casa. Imprigionata in quelle quattro mura con un papà amorevole, ma altrettanto spezzato dal dolore, la ragazzina capisce di aver bisogno di un amico... e l'amicizia arriva, sotto forma di un cane color cannella. Il tema che l'autrice affronta è intenso e difficile e ho sempre stima di chi cerca di sensibilizzare i giovani sul lutto e la perdita di un genitore, anche se da questo romanzo mi aspettavo qualcosa di diverso e, anche se ho impiegato un po' troppo tempo a leggerlo, è un testo che ho apprezzato. Il potere terapeutico degli animali e il percorso di guarigione - non solo quello singolo della protagonista, ma anche quello suo e del padre come famiglia - rendono la lettura toccante, difficile. Più emozionante forse per un lettore giovane che per un adulto, ma è giusto così.
Il lessico è semplice e la storia è accompagnata da diverse illustrazioni carinissime, che mi hanno aiutata a entrare in sintonia con Dessa Dean. Il difetto di questo libro - e forse anche l'unico - è che penso sia difficile valutare a che età e a che tipo di lettore è adatto. Può essere facilmente collocato tra le letture per bambini e ragazzi, ma per quanto semplice il tema della morte lo rende triste, desolante. Al tempo stesso lo ritengo troppo approssimativo per un adulto, che potrà sicuramente apprezzarne la storia e il messaggio di fondo, come ho fatto io, ma penso che difficilmente ne resterebbe emotivamente colpito. Si è rivelata comunque una bella lettura, piacevole e importante, ma per apprezzarla al meglio consiglio di leggerla in una fascia di età tra gli 11 e i 13 anni.
«La mia mamma adesso è un angelo, sai?» Mi sentivo sufficientemente rilassata per aprirle il mio cuore. Ma la mia voce era un sussurro. Perché, anche se volevo che il cane sapesse, preferivo non sentir pronunciare quelle parole troppo forte.
Da quel giorno la vita di Dessa Dean è popolata di incubi e di flashback e, in risposta al dolore e al trauma, arriva l'incapacità di muovere un solo passo oltre la veranda di casa. Imprigionata in quelle quattro mura con un papà amorevole, ma altrettanto spezzato dal dolore, la ragazzina capisce di aver bisogno di un amico... e l'amicizia arriva, sotto forma di un cane color cannella. Il tema che l'autrice affronta è intenso e difficile e ho sempre stima di chi cerca di sensibilizzare i giovani sul lutto e la perdita di un genitore, anche se da questo romanzo mi aspettavo qualcosa di diverso e, anche se ho impiegato un po' troppo tempo a leggerlo, è un testo che ho apprezzato. Il potere terapeutico degli animali e il percorso di guarigione - non solo quello singolo della protagonista, ma anche quello suo e del padre come famiglia - rendono la lettura toccante, difficile. Più emozionante forse per un lettore giovane che per un adulto, ma è giusto così.
Il lessico è semplice e la storia è accompagnata da diverse illustrazioni carinissime, che mi hanno aiutata a entrare in sintonia con Dessa Dean. Il difetto di questo libro - e forse anche l'unico - è che penso sia difficile valutare a che età e a che tipo di lettore è adatto. Può essere facilmente collocato tra le letture per bambini e ragazzi, ma per quanto semplice il tema della morte lo rende triste, desolante. Al tempo stesso lo ritengo troppo approssimativo per un adulto, che potrà sicuramente apprezzarne la storia e il messaggio di fondo, come ho fatto io, ma penso che difficilmente ne resterebbe emotivamente colpito. Si è rivelata comunque una bella lettura, piacevole e importante, ma per apprezzarla al meglio consiglio di leggerla in una fascia di età tra gli 11 e i 13 anni.
March 7, 2018
In the book, "The Leanin' Dog" by K.A. Nuzum, the story tells the life of a girl named Dessa Dean. And Dessa lost her mother not to long ago and memories haunt her in her mind. But As Christmas comes closer, she is constantly alone in the cabin while her father is outside hunting for the long winter. But one day she was surprised with a dog with a broken leg on her porch. The dog reminds her of herself broken and worn out, and the dog gives her motivation to be strong against her mother's death.
I loved how Nuzum made the girl and the dog relatable and give more meaning to the story. But what I didn't like was they didn't explain how Dessa's mother died and where the dog that she found was hurt, because I felt like if that was explained it would make the understanding of the story much easier.
I would definitely recommend this book to someone who loves adventurous stories tat have a twisted or unexpected ending with an amazing ending too. But I'd recommend this to someone who can understand the book and can follow along through it because a lot can happen in just two pages in that book.
I loved how Nuzum made the girl and the dog relatable and give more meaning to the story. But what I didn't like was they didn't explain how Dessa's mother died and where the dog that she found was hurt, because I felt like if that was explained it would make the understanding of the story much easier.
I would definitely recommend this book to someone who loves adventurous stories tat have a twisted or unexpected ending with an amazing ending too. But I'd recommend this to someone who can understand the book and can follow along through it because a lot can happen in just two pages in that book.
September 4, 2019
Nice story that addresses a child's loss of her mother. She has PTSD and relives the situation she and her mother were in when her mother died. These episodes happen to her once or twice a day, so its caused her to become house bound and to doubt her sanity. The story is set in the 1930's in Colorado and told in the dialect of that area and era. At that time PTSD and its treatment hadn't been known so she lives alone with her father who is a tracker and gone most of the day. While she's struggling with what's happening to her an injured dog shows up at their door. She and the dog need each other to survive but have to find a way to trust each other and win over her father so the dog can stay.
Didn't realize this was a Scholastic book but that didn't matter as the story was engrossing and uplifting. Any story about dogs and their ability to help people heal is worth reading.
Didn't realize this was a Scholastic book but that didn't matter as the story was engrossing and uplifting. Any story about dogs and their ability to help people heal is worth reading.
March 31, 2023
This book was a nice read, it gave me a good feeling throughout reading it. This book did not cater to my favorite genres but it still was nice to follow the life of Dessa Dean. I liked the setting of the story being in the wilderness in the cabin, but I didn’t like how they were only confined in their cabin, I also wished they introduced more characters but this book was more about Deassa Dean and her Dog. Though I liked the relationship between Dessa and her dog it really helps relate to the reader with something coming into one's life and that thing helping them. I also liked how K. A. Nuzman was able to tie everything together with each event. I would recommend this book to people who just want a quick read and one that makes them feel happy. This book is 256 pages and was still somewhat of a quick read.
January 10, 2023
It’s 1930, in the mountains of Colorado. It’s just days before Christmas. Dessa Dean is slowly getting over her mother’s death. Her father, a trapper, is trying to catch game every day. One day while Dessa Dean is alone during the day, she hears something on the porch. It’s a dog and from then on, she has found what will be her companion and life saver. Throughout the book she tries to figure out what her name is, and finally, because the dog leaned on her to get her back home in a snow storm, she calls the dog Leanin’ Dog.
I would recommend this young adult book to elementary school children. The book has “hidden” math and would be interesting to those who would like to know how it was living in the mountains in the early twentieth century.
I would recommend this young adult book to elementary school children. The book has “hidden” math and would be interesting to those who would like to know how it was living in the mountains in the early twentieth century.
September 18, 2022
Very sweet story about a young girl who lives in a rural area with her father and is suffering from the recent loss of her mother. After losing her mother, she is unable to leave her family's cabin but a stray dog shows up one day and helps her to gain back her confidence and accept the loss of her mother. It is also very well-written with a plot that feels complete.
March 11, 2018
My favorite part was when the dog helped Dessa Dean to have a good Christmas, even after the bear ruined their original plans. My least favorite part was when the bear got into the house and ruined their Christmas plans.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 15, 2019
Story about a girl who is dealing with the trauma of her mother's death. A big brown dog helps her to overcome some of her issues. I read it for my daughter, looking for a read-aloud for her upper elementary class. I think I liked it because my granddog is a big chocolate lab.
March 8, 2017
good classroom read aloud
October 4, 2017
This book was pretty good. I liked this book because of all the love and partnership in it. Really good book.
December 14, 2017
This is my favorite book!
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