Herbert, a border terrier, was one of the passengers aboard a small boat traveling from Nelson, New Zealand, to a coastal town where the Snadden family had a cottage. Tim, the young son in the family, traveled by car with his mother. When the little boat hit severe stormy weather half-way through the journey, Herbert was washed overboard, but the men onboard, including Tim’s father, were too busy handling the boat to notice until it was too late to turn back. Everyone assumed the worst except for Tim, who was certain his beloved dog was still out there. To appease him, his father hired a fishing boat the next morning and Tim and his dad retraced the journey. Optimistic Tim refused to give up and—miraculously—they found Herbert. He had been swimming for thirty hours. Remarkable as this story sounds, it did, in fact, happen and the endpapers of this picture book are a collage of news clippings, photos, letters, and an award for courage citing “dogged swimming against adversity,” all documenting the historic event from 1984. Robyn Belton’s watercolor and pencil illustrations capture the drama inherent in the story of an intrepid dog and his faithful owner. (Ages 5–8)

A boy never gives up hope when his little dog vanishes at sea in this suspenseful and heartwarming true-life adventure.

Herbert was a small dog who lived by the sea. Everybody loved him, but the person who loved him best of all was Tim. One fine day, Herbert sets off on a boat with Tim’s father. But without warning, a storm crashes in — and so begins the biggest adventure of Herbert’s life. This stirring true story, written and illustrated by Robyn Belton, tells the remarkable tale of a young boy’s beloved dog and his real-life adventure at sea.