Just Gus is a sweet little story told from the viewpoint of Gus, a Great Pyrenees livestock guardian dog. Gus’s job is to protect the farm and livestock belonging to his owner, Esperanza, from predators like coyotes and foxes.
When Esperanza’s brother comes to visit, he brings his son Diego with him. Gus connects with Diego, liking the way Diego knows how to sit still and enjoy the quiet. When the farm is threatened by a larger-than-average predator, Gus rushes to defend his farm and sustains a severe injury. In an effort to help him heal, Diego and his father take Gus away from the challenging work on the farm and introduce him to a new and gentler way of life. As Gus adapts, he learns that there are other ways to “do protect” than defend sheep against coyotes: namely, by helping Diego overcome his own weakness toward anxiety.
I really liked the way this book dealt with the delicate subject of social anxiety and made it relatable. I also loved the way this book is entirely from Gus’ point of view, so while he can smell if a character is uneasy or anxious, he may not always understand why , and he does what he can by being the doggy-est he can be–leaning against someone’s leg or pushing his nose into a hand. It is also written with its target audience in mind and does not have an agenda around a particular message; this is purely a story about a dog and his boy, and it was delightful. This book will appeal to animal lovers, and to any child who has ever read animal stories like Charlotte’s Web, Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH, or The One and Only Ivan.
Review of a copy provided by Shadow Mountain Publishing
Content Analysis:
Profanity/Language: None
Violence/Gore: Many instances of mild violence and gore, including but not limited to: a dog frequently smells potentially dangerous scents; an animal strikes other animals, another animal retaliates; an animal is seriously injured; an animal aggravates an injury; report of someone dying in the past; an animal doesn’t like someone and barks or growls at the person’s scent; a character lies about a dog biting him and locks him in a crate; report of a therapist bringing her sister with PTSD to meet a war veteran.
Sex/Nudity: None
Mature Subject Matter:
Social anxiety; epilepsy; animal injury.
Drugs/Alcohol Use:
A dog is given a shot; a dog is sedated; a dog occasionally smells chemical smells; a dog remembers a girl smelling of chemicals.
