School Library Journal Starred Review

Gr 4-6-- Myers is an author worth keeping an eye on, for behind a decidedly unattractive jacket illustration a very fine first novel. Jessie, 12, is growing up in Oklahoma during the dust-bowl Depression. She is a strong child with wisdom beyond her years. When her young sister dies of pneumonia, she watches her father sink into a severe depression, making him lethargic and unreachable. Jessie comforts her mother and watches after her brother, H. J. When her aunt and uncle leave their farm to seek their fortune in California, she tries to make their nearly wild dog a pet. Ring is shot by a neighboring farmer, and Jessie sees a tie between the wounds the dog and her father suffer. This is a well-written, spare story. The waves of heat in late summer countryside emanate from the pages. Every member of this family comes to life, and the hard work and isolation on the farm are evident. Jessie and her brother's feelings are so real at times that readers will hurt with them. There is also humor in the actions of H. J. and down-to-earth dialogue and action. Coyotes and wild dogs add excitement that leads to a cliff-hanger climax. This is good historical fiction and a sensitive family story. Recommend it to Wilder fans, or for teachers to read aloud. --Susannah Price, Boise Public Library, ID

ALA Booklist (Fri Jan 01 00:00:00 CST 1993)

Told through the character of 12-year-old Jessie, Myers' story is a poignant tale of a Depression-era Oklahoma family struggling valiantly against hard times. When Jessie's younger sister dies of pneumonia, the emotional strain becomes too much for Papa, who sinks into a near-catatonic depression. Wise beyond her years, Jessie comforts her mother and brother, and hopes for her father's recovery. When her aunt and uncle move away to start fresh in California, Jessie becomes determined to tame and adopt their nearly wild dog, Ring. The children desperately need a pet that will respond to their love, and somehow Jessie equates taming Ring with her father's recovery. Both seem nearly impossible, yet her tenacity (which has earned her the nickname Red-Dirt Jessie, after the tough, red Oklahoma dirt that is almost impossible to wash off) compels her to try and ultimately helps her to succeed. An exceptional first novel, with inspiring characters and a gripping conclusion; pair it with Stanley's nonfiction title Children of the Dust Bowl (Reviewed Jan. 15, 1993)

Horn Book (Wed Apr 01 00:00:00 CST 1992)

The Depression has taken its toll on an Oklahoma family, and when the youngest child dies, Papa gives up mentally and does nothing but rock in his chair. Jessie has grit, however, and schemes to make her father well. Good characterization and a vivid setting. The book is good to read aloud.

Kirkus Reviews

Like Patricia Pendergraft at her best, Myers draws readers into intensely evoked realms of folk just trying to get by, crafting what contentment they have out of red dirt and weeds. Little sister Patsy has just been buried, and, while Jessie's whole family mourns, her father has retreated far into himself and doesn't look to be coming back. Jessie, her small brother, and their mother shoulder extra chores, but their livelihood in Oklahoma is so meager that Papa's withdrawal threatens them all. After her aunt and uncle head for land-of-plenty California, Jessie focuses on coaxing Ring, an old dog that hung around their place, to be her pet, saving food from her scant supper to feed him and risking his potential viciousness when he's wounded. Getting Papa back and transforming Ring are so entwined in Jessie's mind that when she faces a truly wild dog and Papa rescues her it is a surprising but perfect outcome—she has, indeed, made him accountable to his living family once again. Myers writes with rare understanding of a young girl's highs and lows; Jessie's great hopes for Ring are as authentic as her sorrow over Patsy, and her inability to give up on her father after the adults have written him off is tenaciously childlike. The simplicity of language goes right to the heart; Myers is a new talent to watch. (Fiction. 10+)"