Wild Brother

Mary Patchett was raised in the wild areas of Australia's Outback, and her knowledge of the terrain, weather, and creatures is very evident in her works. In "Wild Brother", she tells the tales of the people of the Outback, and those of the wildlife, especially the dingos, the golden wild dogs, hunted and trapped mercilessly for their ravages upon the sheep herds. What I like about this author's style is that she portrays nature (and man) as they are, without "Disney-fying" them. There is a cruel dingo hunter, who takes delight in enacting petty revenge upon animals, yet the other people, who also try to eliminate the wild dogs, do so without ill-will, but out of necessity.