Sheila Burnford, the author of The Incredible Journey, offers the spellbinding tale of a small dog caught up in the Second World War, and of the extraordinary life-transforming attachments he forms with the people he encounters in the course of a perilous passage from occupied France to besieged England.Nameless, Burnford’s hero first turns up as a performing dog, a poodle mix earning his keep as part of a gypsy caravan that is desperately fleeing the Nazi advance. Taken on ship by the Royal Navy, he is given the name of Ria and serves as the scruffy mascot to a boatload of sailors. Marooned in England in the midst of the Blitz, Ria rescues an old woman from the rubble of her bombed house, and finds himself unexpectedly transformed into Bel, the coiffed and pampered companion of her old age.Bel Ria is an exciting story about a compellingly real, completely believable dog. Readers of all sorts and ages will find in Bel Ria a companion to take to heart.
Sheila Burnford Book order
Sheila Burnford is celebrated for her evocative narratives of animal journeys and wilderness adventures, often set against the backdrop of the Canadian landscape. Her writing style is marked by a keen eye for detail and an immersive quality that draws readers into the natural world. While her work may be categorized as children's literature, Burnford frequently explored deeper themes and the complex realities of the natural environment. Her experiences in the Arctic allowed her to capture both the fleeting beauty and the stark truths of remote regions.






- 2020
- 2008
The country is wild and dangerous. Mountains are high, rivers run fast, and there are strange animals in the woods. But three family petstwo dogs and a catbegin a long, long walk through western Canada. They miss their family and they are trying to get home. But will anyone see them again?
- 1976
Instinct told them that the way home lay to the west. And so the doughty young Labrador retriever, the roguish bull terrier and the indomitable Siamese set out through the Canadian wilderness. Separately, they would soon have died. But, together, the three house pets faced starvation, exposure, and wild forest animals to make their way home to the family they love. The Incredible Journey is one of the great children's stories of all time--and has been popular ever since its debut in 1961.
- 1960
The Incredible Journey
- 157 pages
- 6 hours of reading
'Only one thing was clear and certain - that at all costs he was going home, home to his own beloved master...'The Hunter children must go abroad for the summer, so they reluctantly leave their three pets in the care of a friend.