Letters to a Dog, Piers Torday
Letters to a Dog, Piers Torday
List: $11.99 | Sale: $8.40
Club: $5.99

Letters to a Dog

Author: Piers Torday

Narrator: Ammar Duffus

Unabridged: 49 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 10/09/2025


Synopsis

Letters from a longed-for pet provide comfort and entertainment for a lonely boy in a heartfelt and gently humorous tale from bestselling author Piers Torday. Jamie is in hospital waiting for a life-changing operation. And to make a difficult time even harder, he’s fallen out with his dad and refuses to speak to him when he comes to visit. To keep his spirits up, nurse Shirley suggests he writes a letter to the dog he desperately wants to adopt from the local dog home. But imagine his surprise when Dog writes back! Particularly suitable for readers aged 9+ with a reading age of 8.

About Piers Torday

Piers Torday began his career in theatre and then television as a producer and writer. His first book for children, The Last Wild, was shortlisted for the Waterstones Children's Book Award and nominated for the CILIP Carnegie Medal. His second book, The Dark Wild, won the Guardian Children's Fiction Prize. There May Be A Castle was a People's Book Award finalist and a Times Children's Book of the Year. The Lost Magician was a Book of the Year in six national newspapers and won the Teach Primary Book Award. The follow up, The Frozen Sea, was published in 2019. Piers has also completed an unfinished novel by his late father Paul (author of Salmon Fishing in the Yemen, The Death of an Owl) and adapted The Box of Delights and A Christmas Carol for the stage.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Tracy on April 27, 2025

Barrington Stoke, what can you say really. Fantastic authors, brilliant short stories. Letters to a Dog is just that, a series of letters to and from a dog over 7 days. The letters to are addressed to a cute 'brown-and-white terrier. With the shortest legs and a wagging tail. And the softest, gentles......more

Goodreads review by Steph on April 14, 2025

This is heart-warming and adorable. A young boy, who’s going through a lot, starts writing letters to a dog at the shelter he visited….. and when the letters come back, they help him. The reveal made me gasp and proper tear up. Bloody Piers Torday - always making me cry!......more


Quotes

"This funny, heartbreaking and uplifting short novel brims with the emotional intelligence we expect from a master storyteller and animal lover." – "A doggy delight: adorable, heart-warming and very funny indeed." — Abi Elphinstone "I loved this – a paw-fect blend of furry, heartfelt magic!" — Ross Welford "A touching story brimming with humour and heart." — Lisa Thompson "A gorgeous story about the bravery of one young boy and the power of one mighty dog. Filled with humour and heart, this is a perfect tale (tail?) about how the smallest things can mean the most. And how you should never play monopoly with a hamster." — Katya Balen "So sweet, so sad, so funny… this little book has a massive emotional punch. It deals with such moving and important issues in a way that is light and deft. Torday captures the messy reality of grief with humour and warmth. Absolutely lovely." — Anthony McGowan "Torday's first title for Barrington Stoke is a moving, perfectly crafted story about a boy who, while in hospital, exchanges letters with the dog he wants to adopt." – "Written entirely as a series of letters exchanged between Jamie and the dog, this funny, moving tale sensitively explores the complexities of grief. It also demonstrates the importance of good communication when working through difficult emotions." — BookTrust, Book of the Day "A moving and heartwarming story, simply told, that doesn’t shy away from difficult themes of grief and anger … this would be ideal for any child experiencing loss, or indeed any parent or adult looking for a way to explore a difficult subject. Piers Torday is an award-winning children’s author, and he tells Jamie’s story with empathy and compassion for all concerned." — Children's Books Ireland "Youngsters will be lapping up this moving, funny and utterly enchanting story – about a lonely little boy who longs for pet dog … a little book with BIG messages." –