Angus and Sadie

Davis Farm #1

by Cynthia Voigt, Tom Leigh (Illustrator)

Newbery Medalist Cynthia Voigt presents this charming middle grade novel about two border collie puppies growing up on a farm—a brother and sister who couldn't be more different from each other...or so they think. "Voigt's touch with dogs is as deft as it is with humans," raved The Horn Book . Angus and Sadie are siblings, but that doesn't mean they're the same. Angus is black-and-white and bigger. He is a good, brave, and clever dog—and he likes that. Sadie, on the other hand, is red-and-white and small. She isn't as quick to learn—or to obey. Angus thinks she's scared of everything, but Sadie knows that's not true. She's just different. This heartwarming story of two wonderful border collie siblings growing up on a farm in Maine is perfect for young readers who enjoyed Ann M. Martin’s A Dog’s Life and John Grogan’s Marley books, animal lovers of all ages, and anyone who's ever had—or wondered what it would be like to have—a brother or sister just like themselves, but very, very different.

Genres: Animals, Dogs, Childrens, Middle Grade, Fiction, Audiobook, Chapter Books

208 pages, Hardcover

First published May 1, 2005

About the author

Cynthia Voigt is an American author of books for young adults dealing with various topics such as adventure, mystery, racism and child abuse.


Awards:
Angus and Sadie: the Sequoyah Book Award (given by readers in Oklahoma), 2008
The Katahdin Award, for lifetime achievement, 2003
The Anne V. Zarrow Award, for lifetime achievement, 2003
The Margaret Edwards Award, for a body of work, 1995
Jackaroo: Rattenfanger-Literatur Preis (ratcatcher prize, awarded by the town of Hamlin in Germany), 1990
Izzy, Willy-Nilly: the Young Reader Award (California), 1990
The Runner: Deutscher Jungenliteraturpreis (German young people's literature prize), 1988
Zilverengriffel (Silver Pen, a Dutch prize), 1988
Come a Stranger: the Judy Lopez Medal (given by readers in California), 1987
A Solitary Blue: a Newbery Honor Book, 1984
The Callender Papers: The Edgar (given by the Mystery Writers of America), 1984
Dicey's Song: the Newbery Medal, 1983

Reviews

[Cheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

An homage to border collie mixes. And fun. But also very reflective of the issue presented in Men Explain Things to Me*... Sadie needs *more* smarts & strength just to stand up for herself against Angus' patronizing.

I did like this observation, even though it's inserted somewhat randomly as the dogs aren't generally presented as so very philosophical:
"I don't understand weird, Sadie said.
"It's what's not normal, Angus explained. It's what's different from me."

I will look for more in the series, and I might even go back and try some of Voigt's famous old 'problem novels.'

*Disclosure: I've not read the essay yet, and I expect I'll criticize it, but the meme does refer to an issue that is valid to a lot of people's experiences.

[Elsa Hé · Rating 3 out of 5]

I went in with a lot of emotions, I'll say that.

Was recommended this profound read by a close friend, and after some insistence, did succumb to the modern whirlwind known as "Angus and Sadie". Let me start by saying, the farm is 137 ACRES. Yes folks, you heard that right, 137 ACRES OF FARM. As I read those words, I wondered why other important info, such as the grass blade length, the circumference of the silo and the speed of the windmill was not given. The way the author withheld these details from us readers is nothing short of a criminal offense, and was why I was FORCED to give a 3 star rating instead of 5.

The plot was invigorating and I found myself emotionally attached to the farm. One thought though, are we sure Betty the Cow is not named after the icon Betty Crocker?

HEART TOUCHING LITERATURE.

[Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is young and optimistic and charming, and every so often you see these flashes of insight Voigt can't quite make vanish, even when writing in this simplified perspective:

Then Missus bent down to pick up some Snowing, but instead of throwing it to Angus, she threw it at Mister. "You fetch," she said.

"Hey!" he said, and threw some right back at her.

"Hey, yourself!" She laughed. "You shouldn't tease Angus that way. Or any way. Or any dog."

"Okay," Mister said. "You're right. Angus, come! I want to show you something."

Angus came, and Mister gave him the Snowing instead of letting him fetch it, and that wasn't nearly as much fun... It's just water, he told Sadie. No, it's Snowing, she told him. Try eating it, he advised her.

So she did. What happened to the Snowing? It's water! she said.

I shouldn't tease you that way, Angus said.

It's weird to call a deliberately simple book narrated by two dogs elegant, but this IS. And funny!

And the last sentence is really beautiful, and such a perfect ending.

[Karin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Angus and Sadie are pups when they go to live with Mister and Missus (frankly, I found calling the people Mister and Missus annoying, and it's one of the reasons this book didn't score higher)--the book gives a description. Suffice to say that the pups have very different personalities and this is the main theme of the book, along with various and sundry other activities. Voigt did a fairly good job of writing from a dog's POV, but I am hard pressed to love it after reading the Chet and Bernie books--Spencer Quinn, to my mind, is the master of the dog's POV and most of those books are also 3 stars for me. I haven't tried reading his books for younger readers, which would give a more fair comparison between the two.

I suspect that it has been too long since my kids were the ages to read this book, so I am not sure how good it is or isn't. Also, both of my daughters hit this lexile level well before the grade level for it, but they probably hit the Lexile level at the ages they would have been most apt to like it; I can't see this holding their interest in the middle grades as this is marketed.

[Shelby · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 Stars
This was a cute simple kind of book to read. I loved everything about this book. I will definitely have to look into the rest of the series because it was just to cit to pass up. I definitely loved the relationship between Angus and Saddie. It is so adorable and cute and also very sweet. I would definitely read this book again and hopefully read the rest of the series. I would recommend this book to anyone that is looking for a cute, sweet, simple book to read.

[Ilovemypuppyroxy · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Angus and Sadie”
Author: Cynthia Voigt


Angus and Sadie the two curious pups, the ones that love adventure, the ones that sometimes get in trouble. Angus the brave and courageous, Sadie the shy and curious. And living together as brother and sister might change the story. Maybe even them.

Cynthia Voigt lives in Maine, USA, and has two grown children. Also she is the author of 20 books, and is a Newbery Medal winner.

The setting in this story takes place on a farm near a big forest by a river and creek. The main characters of this story are Angus and Sadie that are two curious pups (Border Collies). Angus’ characteristics are a tough and brave pup and he tries to be the best and work his hardest every day. He works really hard and likes to be the best. Now Sadie is another story; she is very curious lazy and shy. Also she likes to wander off and explore. Sometimes it is kinda hard for her to stay on task.

The two owners Mister and Missus adopted two Border Collies; and named them Angus and Sadie. Now remember, these two pups have very different characteristics. Now comes the training… Angus, he was great at it; just say the command and he will do it. All it took was first time practice; then he knows it all! Now Sadie, on the other hand, did not like training at all. Lets just say... she was stubborn. After that those pups started to get comfortable with their new home. They knew that their sleeping place was in the barn; and knew places where they could and couldn't be. The pups are starting to get older and bigger now. And starting to get more curious. All I can tell you is that some unexpected things happen.

I love this book because, I love the way the two main characters (Angus and Sadie) have two totally different personalities but are still brother and sister. Another reason I love this book is the adventure part. I love how the author turns the story about two pups with totally different personalities, living together, into an adventure. In my opinion, these pups are on the adventure of life, which I personally love.

One thing about this book that I wished happen, is that there will be a sequel. One thing that I wished happened differently in this book is that the story had a little more backstory about the pups growing up at the adoption center where Mister and Missus adopted them.

This book is really good, I love it! One of the reasons I love it is because I love dogs! Also because it is my favorite type of genre. Books take me places and some are hard to connect to, and some are easy; this one was easy. I highly recommend this to you or your friends. (Especially if you or they love dogs!)

Oh, and one more thing I will say, is that Angus and Sadie get into a big fight, and my question to you is, what will happen next? Will they makeup? Or not? To find out, read “Angus and Sadie.”

[Brenda Kahn · Rating 2 out of 5]

Fairly disappointed by this. While there were lovely bits of writing, especially the descriptions of the farm and the puppies' early life, the dog-training bits were just plain wrong. I don't know what time period this was but the men, Mister and Angus were so damn chauvinistic! The narrator made this a better book. She had terrific voices and added energy to an otherwise quiet story.

[Leonard Kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Same setting and some of the same characters as this year’s Toaff’s Way. I liked this one even better, because the anthropomorphism was dialed back a little compared to Toaff’s Way, and I thought it more effective.

[Jacki]

I think that if you spend much time doing clicker training or raising puppies or acting as a foster parent to rescue animals, you get very critical of books with dogs, especially those told from the dog's POV. I liked a lot of things about this book: the sweet tone, the way Voigt writes the puppies' dialogue, the pastoral setting. And bonus points for showing the owners adopting instead of buying, although it would've been nice if it had been because they wanted to save a dog and not because the wife liked mongrels better than purebreds. That last bit felt like an endorsement of irresponsible breeding, albeit a totally accidental one. However, I had to give up. I usually do with dog books. I just get so dang irritated with the stupid mistakes of the owners in the books, like getting mad at puppies for eating furniture and THEN realizing, oh, I should get them toys... Why didn't they get toys in the first place? When the farmer got a choke chain out and taught Angus to sit by pulling the chain shut and pulling up (NOT how you correctly use a pull chain in the first place, leaving aside all arguments about correction vs positive reinforcement), I gave up. I understand that Voigt is probably trying to show farm dog life accurately, and to be fair, it's still a rose-colored glasses version. I just don't like the impression it gives about how to train your dog. Yes, it's fiction, but it still gives an impression: Here are these nice farm people who really love their puppies, so this is how you treat a dog if you care and want to do right by it. I've just seen it so much in the real world, and it's sad, and I don't want to read about it. Maybe the farmer meets a behaviorist and learns about clicker training at the end of the book, but I doubt it. DNF at about 25%.

[Brianna]

I found a little notebook that I wrote when I first read this story at the age of 10... Quite funny to read:

This is a book about two dogs, Angus and Sadie. Angus is bigger, good, brave and clever. Sadie, his sister isn't quick to learn, or to obey. This book is about the two dogs growing up, and how they learn to get used to the things around them. I think this book is aimed towards children 10 and under, and not for anyone older. I think that this is borrow for 10 and under, but for anyone older, I think this is a skip.

In other news, I am currently re-reading this for a new reading vlog coming soon, so look out for that for my thoughts!

[Darcie Caswell · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don't quite know what to say about this book. It was recommended to me by a reliable source, and I was very disappointed. The only criticism I have is a big one: it is chauvinistic. Angus and Sadie are siblings, adopted at puppyhood by Mr. and Mrs. Immediately, With so many books out there in this genre of books with animals that talk, I would recommend skipping this one.

[Christine · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book! It probably is my favorite! I loved how every chapter is a different 'adventure' for the dogs. I read it in 2nd grade.

[Alex · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read it when I was about ten. I absolutely loved it when i was younger.

[Johnny Zhang · Rating 5 out of 5]

this book is my favorite book ever!!!!!!!!
I read this book 3-4 times when I was a 3-5th grader.
I think every body should read this book!!!!!!!

[Nicole Pramik · Rating 4 out of 5]

*This review is in memory of my Border Collie mix who passed away in 2016, and my other mixed breed who passed away in 2017. Both girls will always be deeply missed by my family and me. They were both adorable, smart dogs and lovable sweethearts.*

I have a special place in my heart for Border Collies as they're very intelligent, energetic, and warm-hearted dogs. Naturally, when I spied this book in my GoodReads Recommendations, I decided to check it out as it was an inexpensive Kindle book.

This is a simple story about two humans, known as Mister and Missues, who adopt two Border Collie pups and take them home to their farm. However, this story is told from the dogs' point of view, which, for me, made it more interesting than if it had been told using a more detached third person voice. In the same way, I enjoyed the contrasting personalities of the two dogs, Angus and Sadie, who are siblings. Angus is a quick study and eager to please, but Sadie is a slow learner and generally disinterested. Her stubbornness eventually becomes a stumbling block for her and we see, through her eyes, how she can't understand why her refusal to learn makes her family frustrated at her - Angus included.

Through the story, Angus and Sadie have adventures and befriend the animals on the farm. But as they age, they begin to see their respective personality differences, so the underlying tension in the story becomes two-fold: 1). will Sadie ever learn what's required of her and 2). can Sadie and Angus ever truly get along. Obviously, as a children's story the situations and dilemmas here aren't desperate or stark and, in the end, this is a happy story.

There are also little chapter and heading illustrations that are simply adorable. Below are cropped samples taken from my Kindle copy (but no worries - there are no spoilers!):



While I'm definitely not the targeted audience for this book, I can say that I enjoyed it and appreciated it for its canine-focused narrative. In the end, this is a cute little story and I would be curious to read any subsequent novels to see what Angus and Sadie get into next.

Overall, Angus and Sadie is a cute story that will certainly appeal to older children who love dogs. (This seems like a good fit for the 6 to 10 years old crowd albeit there is nothing that would turn off anyone older.) The choice to tell this story from the dogs' points of view was a smart and creative decision and there are enough canine adventures - and cheeky misadventures - to keep readers of any age entertained.

Content:
Language - None.

Violence - Essentially none. Though there are some scenes of mild peril when animals are left on their own, no animals ever come to harm or fall into any real danger. Also, there are no animal deaths, so the title pets are alive and well at the end of the story.

Sexual Content - None.

[Red · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is cute, but a bit confusing. The age range is likely kids under twelve, or maybe just around seven. Not much at all happens in this book yet things happen at the same time. I was unaware this was book one of a series, but as a stand-alone it does feel hollow and lacking.

To sum up this book, the boy's smart and good and the girl's a goof who can't do anything right and her brother doesn't want her to do anything right anyway. He wants all the attention and belittles her so much it's mean. Like really mean. It's cruelty stood out to me, and while Sadie is a bit of a mess, she doesn't deserve to bow to Angus who can be rude and mean.

I hope if he's in the next books, he is nicer and less controlling of his sister who can be a fun dog and dance with bugs or be her own person and not what he wants her to be.

[Shazza Maddog · Rating 4 out of 5]

A sweet middle-ager book about a pair of brother and sister Border collie mixes - Angus, the bigger sibling, also possesses the ability to understand and remember what the Mister and Missus want him to do but Sadie, his smaller sister, is a bit more flighty as well as more fearful - she doesn't like the tractor, nor the cats, nor children as a general rule.

But they each have the ability to prove their own worth to themselves, each other, and the farm, as the mature into working dogs.

Harkening back to Terhune's books about Lad the collie and his siblings, sons, and daughters, this is a really sweet book about differences in families and how being different isn't a bad thing.

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this novel, and it gave so many opportunities to talk about interpersonal relationships with my 7-year old. We both felt so protective of Sadie, and it was a wonderful lesson in how to think and feel about friends and loved ones who are maybe less confident and quick. I was also amused by the naive narrator aspects, as the two dogs learned language and learned about the world around them. Most of that humor went over my son’s head, but we talked about it a bit so maybe he learned a new literary technique, maybe he didn’t.

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this to my daughter. We both enjoyed the story, but were both constantly exchanging frustrated looks at Angus's complacent egotism. I was waiting for some moment when he would realize that there was more to Sadie than he realized, but that moment never happened. Not all that unrealistic of a situation, but a little depressing to read to my 8-year-old. I guess we need to read the next book in the series.

[Jennifer Rossi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute characters helped me imagine what it might be like to think like a dog. Disappointed with the ending...it just ended with Angus not really learning much of a lesson like I thought he should, though he did take a little bit away from what Sadie’s experienced. I did like the second book in the series much better. Still a good book for elementary school aged readers, though.

[Ashley · Rating 5 out of 5]

I listened to the audio version of this book with my children. This book is fabulous for a 6- and 8-year-old. It is so positive, simple, and sweet, and the actor was fantastic at using a different voice for all the characters. This book was a pleasure to read, and my 8-year-old dog-loving daughter really loved it too.

[Heidi Burkhart · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a chapter book for children. The story was sweet but I did feel that Angus was a bit of a bully to his littermate, Sadie. I think Gr 2-5 kids who love dog stories would especially like this book.

[Mary Parker · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love this book. It is told from the perspective of the two dogs, Angus and Sadie, and their adventures growing up on a farm. This book is perfect for young kids who love dogs and adventures.

[Kelsey Vant · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love how Angus and Sadie's thoughts are written out so we can read about them from their perspective. It makes the story more interesting for kids especially.
Grade: 3-5
Genre: Fantasy

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Started off a little slow, but turned out to be cute. Especially liked Sadie

[6thbreed · Rating 3 out of 5]

(3.5 stars)

[Anna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cute!

[Jazmyn Dolbin · Rating 4 out of 5]

My kids LOVED this audiobook and begged to listen to it in the car every time we got in.

[Tina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute story to introduce you to Angus and Sadie, two Border Collie mixed pups.

[Christie L. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this with my kids. We all liked it and we especially liked Sadie!