Red-Dirt Jessie - Couverture rigide

From the author of Tulsa Burning and Stolen by the Sea

A farm can be a lonely place when it’s filled with grief and worry. After Jessie’s little sister dies, her father just gives up on life. Caring about nothing, he sits and rocks all day long in grandmother’s old chair. With her mother struggling to keep the family afloat during the hard days of the dusty Depression, it is up to Jessie to breathe some life back into her family. But how can a twelve-year-old girl pull her father out of his chair and back to the land of the living? The answer comes to her in the form of Ring, a one-hundred-pound dog that was abandoned on a neighboring farm. Wary of people, Ring refuses to accept Jessie’s friendship or assistance. But Jessie is determined to win Ring’s trust. She just knows that if she can tame a fine dog like Ring, together they will have the power to heal her father’s broken spirit.

"Myers writes with a rare understanding of a young girl's highs and lows. The simplicity of the language goes right to the heart." --Kirkus Reviews

"An author worth keeping an eye on. . . This is a well-written, spare story." --School Library Journal

Can Ring help Jessie bring her father back? In the tough days of the Depression, nothing is the same in Jessie’s family after her little sister dies. Her father just seems to give up on life, leaving Jessie’s mother to keep the family together. Then Jessie comes up with a plan. There’s an abandoned dog on a nearby farm—a dog who won’t trust anyone. If Jessie can tame Ring, maybe the two of them together can bring her father back.