Heroes & Hounds, Bill Miller, Illustrated by Mary Burkhardt, 154 pages, $11.95 (paperback), $3.99 (Kindle), Available on Amazon.comA lost tri-colored foxhound. A spunky eleven-year-old girl with an independent streak. A strange man who subsists in the woods. And weaving among them, a fox that seems at times to have almost mystical powers.
Author Bill Miller, an honorary whipper-in for the Norfolk Hunt (MA) for more than twenty years, crafts a tale of loss and forgiveness in Heroes & Hounds. Carly, a fifth grader who dreams of riding to the hounds with the posh Riverdale Hunt Club, lives with her irascible grandfather on a Virginia farm while her parents serve overseas in the military. Carly’s best friends are her talented pony, Monroe; a cat named Buster; and a schoolmate, Freddie, who follows her lead into trouble.
When Hampton, a young Riverdale hound, is lost, Carly vows to find him, dreaming of being hailed as a hero and being asked to join the hunt. Instead she risks Freddie’s life and discovers Strange Willie, who knows all too well about being a hero.
A delightful book for the “tween-age” set—kids aged eight to fourteen—Heroes & Hounds has enough excitement to keep adult readers turning the pages. Miller writes that Heroes & Hounds was inspired by former Norfolk Hunt MFH Jane Sheldon and her story of a missing hound (would love to hear more about that story!). Artist Mary Burkhardt’s charcoal sketches are well-done and bring the characters to life.
Heroes & Hounds is more than a fast-paced tale for young readers. It explores deeper themes that teach children about forgiveness and understanding, about accepting others who are different and, ultimately, about being true to oneself.
Miller’s forty years of experience riding to hounds allows him to introduce the reader—especially non-foxhunters—to how foxes and hounds think and react to man and the world around them. The author, an independent film director and cinematographer, is respectful of the animals’ intelligence without anthropomorphizing them or turning them into cutesy, Disneyesque creatures. The animal characters, like the human ones, have motivation for their acts.
Miller has written a lovely story with believable characters that leaves the reader wanting to know the next chapter in Carly’s life. Perhaps Miller will next treat us to her foxhunting adventures.
Posted April 15, 2011