Runt by Craig Silvey

Title: Runt

Author: Craig Silvey

Genre: Fiction

Publisher: Allen and Unwin

Published: 5^th October 2022

Format: Hardcover

Pages: 352

Price: $22.99

Synopsis: A heart-warming, funny, beautifully told story for readers of all ages from the bestselling author of Jasper Jones and Honeybee.

‘You don’t have to carry the weight of the world in your tool belt.’

Annie Shearer lives in the country town of Upson Downs with her best friend, an adopted stray dog called Runt. The two share a very special bond.


After years evading capture, Runt is remarkably fast and agile, perfect for herding runaway sheep. But when a greedy local landowner puts her family’s home at risk, Annie directs Runt’s extraordinary talents towards a different pursuit – winning the Agility Course Grand Championship at the lucrative Krumpets Dog Show in London.

However, there is a curious catch: Runt will only obey Annie’s commands if nobody else is watching.

With all eyes on them, Annie and Runt must beat the odds and the fastest dogs in the world to save her farm.

Runt is a heart-warming and hilarious tale of kindness, friendship, hurdles, hoops, tunnels, see-saws, being yourself and bringing out the best in others.

~*~

Meet Annie Shearer, and her adopted dog, Runt. Annie and Run live on a farm in Upson Downs, a small farming community that has been ravaged by drought and the selfishness of Earl Robert-Barron damming all the water so he can buy and collect the farms – adding them to his collections of stuff inside that he never looks at or uses. And the Shearer’s farm is one of the only ones Earl hasn’t bought yet and they owe lots of money. So, when Annie works out that her magic finger can communicate with Runt in an unusual way, she decides to enter a local agility competition, which will take her all the way to the Agility Course Grand Championship at the lucrative Krumpets Dog Show in London and get money to help her farm. After all, Annie likes to fix things like her grandfather used to. But Runt will only obey Annie if nobody else is watching – and that means Annie and her family have to come up with a way to help Runt compete – but with Fergus Fink, whose family have always triumphed at the dogs shows – sees how well Annie and Runt do, he is determined to thwart them, because he has never won. What follows is a heart-warming story about family, love, loyalty, and being yourself.

Runt is the first of Craig Silvey’s books I have read, and I think it is very Australian – it represents the country, farming life, and a spirit that we see in Australian stories about overcoming things that people say we can’t do – celebrating the underdog and the triumph of those in need. I felt that this book had a timelessness to it as well as a cemented setting in contemporary times, because it was the themes of family, friendship, loyalty, community, ad being yourself, trusting yourself and bringing out the best in those around you that danced off the page more than anything else. It felt like the story and characters invited you into their world and wrapped their arms around the reader like a warm hug. I loved the sense of community this book had – it was a small community and focused on one family, so we got to see the Shearer family as they were, wholly and purely. I went into this book with a little trepidation – hoping Runt wouldn’t die and was pleased with the way things turned out. I love that stories of hope like this often do this and allow us as readers to enjoy a story, and barrack for characters like Annie and Runt, whilst hoping Fergus and Earl will be thwarted.

Craig Silvey’s story is simple but effective. It captures the realities of farm life, and life in a country town, and gives us a small community to be part of while we are reading the book. I loved it and wanted to savour the story but at the same time, I wanted to devour it and see Annie and Runt succeed – and how they got on at Krumpets Dog Show in London. And I adored the illustrations by Sara Acton, a fellow CBCA sub-branch member. They captured Annie and Runt’s world and personalities beautifully, giving a sense of joy to the story. This is a book that I think will be adored and treasured. It will become a classic in years to come, and sit amongst many books that will attain this status as we get more stories about Australia from different voices and about different places. It’s beautiful and joyful in its simplicity, and hopefully it will be much loved.