Dogsbody, by Diana Wynne Jones

The lord of a star is accused of a crime and sentenced to find what he lost on earth, living as a dog. Sirius at first knows only dog thoughts because he is too young to remember or understand who he is/was. He is found and adopted by a kind young girl named Kathleen. She is living with relatives who are not particularly kind to her, so Sirius is a wonderful addition to her life. He learns to know people by their voices and attitudes, knowing whether to trust humans or not. He must find the Zoi (a sort of tool he used when he was ruler of the star), and in the process bring justice to those who actually committed the crime.

In his search for the Zoi, Sirius ends up traveling all over town and incidentally meeting all sorts of people. Some of whom really enjoy giving him food or petting him for a bit. His favorite is an old woman named Mrs. Smith, who speaks to him as though he can actually understand (which he can, since he worked to learn the language). Mrs. Smith takes care of him, as well as all those (dog or human) who he brings to her front door. Such hospitality and generosity -- even though she doesn't have much to share sometimes. A beautiful character.

This story brings to mind the incarnation. An immense being coming to earth as a dog, having both dog-nature and star-nature, searching for justice/the Zoi and being unable to share that search with those around him in ways they can understand, becoming friends with others on earth who don't know how to relate to him when they discover who he really is. Jesus came as a baby -- and had to learn to crawl, to walk, to speak, to listen, to be patient -- to live as a perfect human. Jesus as both human and God is hard to comprehend, and it's so much easier to think of Him as just one or the other -- but having examples helps me to understand, such as this star become dog.

Title:	Dogsbody
Author:	Diane Wynne Jones
Date published:	1975
Genre:	Young Adult, Fantasy
Number of pages:	261
Notes:	Repeat reading