Book Descriptions
for Berta by Celia Barker Lottridge and Elsa Myotte
From Cooperative Children's Book Center (CCBC)
Only Berta’s family – nine-year-old Marjory Miller and her parents – know what a truly remarkable dog she is. To the outside world, she seems like a perfectly ordinary, slightly lazy dachshund. Even Marjory acknowledges that Berta’s favorite pastimes are “eating and sleeping and, if necessary, taking short walks.” But one spring Berta develops a sudden interest in baby farm animals. She tries her hand at mothering baby chicks and a neighbor’s newborn kitten, none of whom particularly need or want Berta for a mother. Patrick the lamb, however, is another story. Rejected by his own mother, he needs special care and Berta is equal to the task. Episodic chapters and a gentle, humorous tone make this short novel perfect for newly independent readers. Like Marjory, they will come to see exactly what makes Berta remarkable: her ordinary dogginess. (Ages 5-9)
CCBC Choices 2003 . © Cooperative Children's Book Center, Univ. of Wisconsin - Madison, 2003. Used with permission.
From the Publisher
Berta the dachshund is easy to love. She sleeps a lot and doesn't let anything bother her -- not even being called a "sausage dog" by Margery Miller's best friend Rosalind. Margery knows that one day Berta will do something remarkable. And she does. It starts in early spring, when Berta becomes fascinated by the newborn chicks Mr. Miller brings home to raise. Berta's interest increases when piglets are born in the barn, a baby kitten arrives, and the Millers are given a newborn lamb to raise when its mother refuses to care for it. Berta becomes a maternal sentry, barking when Patrick the lamb needs to be fed and protecting him from any perceived threat. At last the mystery is solved: Berta wants to be a mother, and she's found a baby to look after. The question now is, how will Berta react when the Millers decide to teach Patrick that he's a sheep, not a dachshund? Filled with lively line drawings and beautifully written by award-winning author Celia Barker Lottridge, Berta is an ideal chapter book for beginning readers.
Publisher description retrieved from Google Books.