Based on true events, Beautiful Joe tells the story of a dog that is rescued from the hands of a cruel master who removes his ears and tail in a fit of anger. The Morris family comes to his aid and carefully nurses the dog back to health, giving him the name, Beautiful Joe.

Originally published in 1894, it is told from the perspective of Joe himself, who quickly finds that he is in the company of many other animals that the Morrises have saved from harm. They firmly believe that every creature has the right a to full and happy life. Despite his horrible, early experiences he falls in love with his adopted family and becomes a loyal and trustworthy companion.

With over seven million copies sold worldwide, Beautiful Joe is a Canadian classic beautifully repackaged for today''s young reader.

Margaret Marshall Saunders was born Nova Scotia in 1861, and was inspired to write Beautiful Joe while she was visiting her brother in Meaford, Ontario. She heard about the story of a dog that was rescued from a brutal owner and proceeded to write a fictionalized biography of the dog, entering it into a literary contest sponsored by the American Humane Education Society. When the book was first published, it was the first Canadian book to sell over a million copies, and by the late 1930s had sold over seven million copies worldwide. In 1934, Saunders was made a Commander of the British Empire, and together with fellow Canadian author, Lucy Maud Montgomery, she also co-founded the Maritime branch of the Canadian Women's Press Club. Saunders went on to write more than twenty other stories and died in 1947 in Toronto.