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Puppy Lost in Lapland
Left to fend for himself in the wilderness of Lapland, a puppy grows to become the leader of a wolf pack.
123 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1971
About the author
Wallace Tripp
51 books7 followersWallace Whitney Tripp (June 26, 1940 – September 9, 2018) was an American illustrator, anthologist, and author. He was known for creating anthropomorphic animal characters of emotional complexity and for his great visual and verbal humor.
He was one of several illustrators of the Amelia Bedelia children's book series. He has illustrated over 40 books, including Marguerite, Go Wash Your Feet (1985), Wallace Tripp's Wurst Seller (1981), Casey at the Bat (1978) and A Great Big Ugly Man Came Up and Tied His Horse to Me (1973). Tripp also drew many greeting cards for the Pawprints line.
He was one of several illustrators of the Amelia Bedelia children's book series. He has illustrated over 40 books, including Marguerite, Go Wash Your Feet (1985), Wallace Tripp's Wurst Seller (1981), Casey at the Bat (1978) and A Great Big Ugly Man Came Up and Tied His Horse to Me (1973). Tripp also drew many greeting cards for the Pawprints line.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
July 9, 2023
It was a good book with a familiar dog trope, but the story is unique in many ways. The dog is described as a Finnish dog, and although not directly labeled, which I believe relates what another source says of a breed in Finland: Finnish Lapponian Dog, said to be ‘The Finnish Lapponian Dog (Suomenlapinkoira) is intelligent, brave, eager to learn, friendly and fairly submissive. Its herding instinct is strong and it displays a clear disposition to guard.’ So not your usual German Shepherd or Collie you find as the hero so often in dog books.
Another big unique aspect is that the story is set with a boy Aslak and his family who tend a herd of reindeer. The puppy gets hurt by a reindeer and his grandfather tells him:
'Get rid of him, Aslak. Even if the bone sets, he won’t be any good for herding. “Lame pups are no use!”'
The book is sprinkled with a few Finnish words including the name of the dog:
The puppy had been given the unusual Lapp nae of Veddge (Fetch) because from the day he could tumble about, he would rush to the tent door when Aslak’s moth, Susannan, shouted veddge chadzi (fetch water), or veddge more (fetch wood). It seemed as if the word veddge always brought the puppy to his feet, ready and anxious to dash after Aslak.
Rather than kill the dog, Aslak tries to take the dog with him on the migration, and along the way the dog gets separated. The dog unsuccessfully tries to get back to people but….
'As a lost child cries when he thinks he is alone and no one cares for him, so Veddge howled. He had tried desperately to return to the tents of man, but they would not have him. They had set their dogs on him, fired a rifle at him. He seemed to know that he was an outcast. No one wanted him, and he filled the frosty night air with his sorrowful howling.'
Veddge gets over it, learns to survive on his own which makes him strong, strong enough to join a pack of wolves by killing the alpha. I personally find wolves are too often made into the villains. For the sake of the story I just go along with a dog besting wolves in a fight, but I am not a big fan of that storyline. Also with what we know of wolves now, I don’t think wolves deserve as much vilification as they are given credit for. Putting that aside though, it was a good story, and I really enjoyed the differences between this and any other dog book I have read and learning about reindeer herding in Finland. It would also be a good book to read with children if you don’t mind a little violence with wolves.
Another big unique aspect is that the story is set with a boy Aslak and his family who tend a herd of reindeer. The puppy gets hurt by a reindeer and his grandfather tells him:
'Get rid of him, Aslak. Even if the bone sets, he won’t be any good for herding. “Lame pups are no use!”'
The book is sprinkled with a few Finnish words including the name of the dog:
The puppy had been given the unusual Lapp nae of Veddge (Fetch) because from the day he could tumble about, he would rush to the tent door when Aslak’s moth, Susannan, shouted veddge chadzi (fetch water), or veddge more (fetch wood). It seemed as if the word veddge always brought the puppy to his feet, ready and anxious to dash after Aslak.
Rather than kill the dog, Aslak tries to take the dog with him on the migration, and along the way the dog gets separated. The dog unsuccessfully tries to get back to people but….
'As a lost child cries when he thinks he is alone and no one cares for him, so Veddge howled. He had tried desperately to return to the tents of man, but they would not have him. They had set their dogs on him, fired a rifle at him. He seemed to know that he was an outcast. No one wanted him, and he filled the frosty night air with his sorrowful howling.'
Veddge gets over it, learns to survive on his own which makes him strong, strong enough to join a pack of wolves by killing the alpha. I personally find wolves are too often made into the villains. For the sake of the story I just go along with a dog besting wolves in a fight, but I am not a big fan of that storyline. Also with what we know of wolves now, I don’t think wolves deserve as much vilification as they are given credit for. Putting that aside though, it was a good story, and I really enjoyed the differences between this and any other dog book I have read and learning about reindeer herding in Finland. It would also be a good book to read with children if you don’t mind a little violence with wolves.
November 29, 2020
Picked this up for 25 cents at a neighborhood yard sale. I was attracted by the fact that it stood out as an old book, in the midst of a bunch of more recent titles. I’ve always loved children’s books, and miss reading to my own children. This was a wonderful little read, and I’m excited to save it for the grandchildren of my future.
December 17, 2024
A simple story about an injured puppy getting lost in the wilds of Lapland, far from the Lapp/Sámi boy who loves him. It’s a survival tale—very sad at first, but with a pretty exciting ending.
Like I said, it’s simple. But it’s a solid dog book, and chock full of neat info about the Lapp/Sámi people, reindeer herding, and life in the Arctic Circle.
Like I said, it’s simple. But it’s a solid dog book, and chock full of neat info about the Lapp/Sámi people, reindeer herding, and life in the Arctic Circle.
July 28, 2023
I love old dog and horse books so I can't really give this less than 4 stars. Some of the last 20 pages required a lot of suspension of disbelief - things I see as an adult that I would not have seen as a child. The illustrations are wonderful.
September 22, 2022
Such a wonderful story of a Lapp puppy that was abandoned in the wilderness. Honestly it's worth reading when you are 6 and re reading again when you are 60 and many times in between
November 30, 2015
A young puppy suffers a serious injury just as his human family is about to set off on a perilous journey to herd their reindeer north. Injured puppies are of no use in the necessarily harsh wintery climate of Norway, and the family had to consider the survival of themselves and their reindeer herd, not the life of a puppy not yet trained to herd or protect. Veddge must fend for himself against all odds, always hoping he would be reunited with his humans.
Told from the point of view of a domesticated dog surviving in the wild, Puppy Lost in Lapland shares with us the heart and courage of a well-bred herd dog.
Told from the point of view of a domesticated dog surviving in the wild, Puppy Lost in Lapland shares with us the heart and courage of a well-bred herd dog.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews