1912. Twelve-year-old Maggie Wells lives in the port village of Bonnie Bay in Newfoundland, where a statute has been passed outlawing all non-sheepherding dogs. Maggie swears she'll protect her beloved Newfoundland dog, Sirius, by hiding him if she must.
Sirius is named after the brightest star in the sky, which is in the constellation of Canis Major, the Great Dog -- and he more than lives up to his name. He hauls firewood across...