Luke Baldwin’s Vow

Morley Callaghan's Luke Baldwin's Vow is a moving, old-fashioned story for 9 year olds about a boy, an old one-eyed collie and the uncle who thinks the dog is no use to anyone.

What happens

Luke lives in the city with his dad, a gentle doctor who goes out in the rain to see patients even when they're probably fine. The two of them go fishing and talk for an hour at bedtime. Then one wet morning his dad collapses pushing the car, and a few days later he dies.

Worth knowing before you hand it over

This happens in the very first chapter, on the page, and it's quiet but very sad. We also learn that Luke's own little dog was killed a few months earlier (that's backstory). A child who has lost someone, or a pet, may find the opening hard going. For a reader who can manage a sad start, it's a thoughtful book about finding your feet somewhere new.

Luke goes to live with Aunt Helen and Uncle Henry, who own a sawmill on the Georgian Bay. He's shy and lonely and doesn't really know them. Then an old collie with one blind eye and a limp comes over, looks at him like he's been waiting, and slowly lifts his paw to shake hands. That's Dan.

Uncle Henry is kind in his own way. He buys Luke sturdy shoes and plans a desk for his room. But he's VERY practical. He takes away Luke's book of fairy tales because it's full of "lies". And he thinks an old dog who can't hunt or guard anything any more should be got rid of.

That's the heart of it. Can Luke make his uncle see that Dan matters?

It reads like a proper classic. The sentences are longer and slower than in most modern children's books, and there's a lot about what Luke is feeling and noticing. It's probably one for a confident reader, or a lovely one to share. (It also uses the word "Indians" when Aunt Helen talks about local history, which will read as old-fashioned now.)

What to read next

If your reader loves a story where a dog turns up just when a child needs one, Because of Winn-Dixie is in the library too. Opal has just moved to a new town with her preacher dad and doesn't know anyone, until a big scruffy dog causes chaos in the supermarket.