Old Yeller (Perennial Classics) by Fred Gipson, Steven Polson
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Book Reviews of Old Yeller (Perennial Classics)
Book Review: An Outstanding Coming-of-Age Story
Summary: 5 Stars
Travis Coates is a 14-year-old boy, left alone to protect his mother and younger brother on his family's 19th-century Texas homestead. When his father goes on a trip leaving him to "act a man's part," he throws himself into his new responsibilities. But the challenges of feeding and protecting his family prove to be greater than his boy's abilities, and he comes to depend on and love the stray dog which adopts their family.
The story follows chapter after chapter of gritty, riveting and often funny adventures as the family wrestles out a living from the land, dealing with angry bulls, thieving coons, an enraged bear, vicious javelinas, and an outbreak of "hydrophobia" (rabies). Through these challenges, Travis grows to fill his father's shoes while Yeller makes himself indispensible, saving the family member's lives time upon time. In the culmination of the story, Yeller is bitten while fighting off a rabies-infected wolf that had attacked Travis's mother. Realizing the bite of the wolf is fatal, and that Yeller will become a danger to the family before he dies, Travis kills him.
It is important to note that Travis is not forced to kill his beloved dog. He is quick to see that Yeller has been infected with rabies, and (unlike Jody in The Yearling) he does not deny that his dog is a danger to the family. Although he loves Yeller, he knows his responsibility is first toward his mother and brother. Although his mother offers to do it for him, he quickly and resolutely pays the price to protect his family. This self-sacrifice is exactly the kind of character quality our children ought to see as normal, and Travis's decision grows out of the his emerging character. It is an extraordinary act of moral courage, but it comes at the end of a story filled with ordinary acts of responsibility. In this outstanding coming-of-age story, Travis's manhood is achieved at great cost, and in this cost he proves his worth as a man.
Book Review: Old Yeller
Summary: 5 Stars
of stars (1 to 5): 5
Introduction: When I first read this book I thought it was going to be a horrible book to read, because I thought it was going to be one of those drama books where every single sentence is sad. But once I started to read about 2 pages it got interesting and the further I got into it, it got better and better!
Description and summary of main points: This book is about a little boy and his Golden Retriever. (Old Yeller). They go hunting just about every day the boy gets back from school, and they never come home empty handed. And one day the boy and his dog went hunting and the boy's mom realized that it's past his curfew to get home and the mom went looking for the boy and his dog. Once the boys mom found them the dog was hurt but the boy wasn't... The boy's dog is hurt BADLY! "The boy got a new dog and that new dog took place of old yeller but never took the place in the boys heart" (117).
Evaluation: I thought the book was very, very good to read for fun or AR points for school.
Conclusion: I thought the book was going to be horrible but it wasn't.
Your final review: If I was you I would read this book, because it's very interesting!
Book Review: A classic, that's for sure.
Summary: 5 Stars
Old Yeller is a very enjoyable read with lots of vivid descriptions. I should think of Old Yeller as being in touch with nature, and when Fred Gipson writes about Hill Country of Texas, he makes the area more fun to live in although living in it can be physically demanding. He also delivers the characterization very well for each of the characters except for the father which is understandable. One thing I immediately notice in Old Yeller is the rugged attitude conveyed by the main character Travis which gives the book a very different feel. This helped to elevate Old Yeller into a different territory because Fred Gipson allows no prisoners to be taken throughout the story. And when I write that, I mean there is a lot of animal killing going on. It's not that it is ethically wrong, but we are talking about the story taking place during the nineteen century post Civil-War. That being noticed, the time period puts Old Yeller into a different perspective. Of course, the relationship between Little Arliss and Old Yeller and then the dog with Travis go a long way and serve as the cornerstone of the book as well. All in all, Old Yeller is one of the great reads I've had, and I enjoyed the book tremendously.Book Review: One of the standard-bearers of children's literature
Summary: 5 Stars
Old Yeller is simply one of the best children's novels there is. It really says something about a book if it can be thoroughly enjoyed by a 4-year-old boy, who probably identifies more with Arliss than Travis, as well his middle-aged Papa.
The language and detail of the book marks it as authentic; one gets the sense that the book was written as an autobiography, though it wasn't. Like the Little House books--although, arguably, better in this regard--it immerses the young reader in a time and place, impressing upon one just how important the details of place were when people lived "close to the land."
The lovely thing about this book is that it wonderfully develops the relationship between the boys and their dog, who turns out to be a canine hero. While this might sound banal or silly, the book is really anything but; it is great literature and seems perfectly realistic. It captures some of the best aspects of boyhood (and the realities of frontier life).
This is the sort of book that a zillion would-be "literary" entries lamely attempt to imitate. It is an enjoyable, fulfilling experience instead of a dry intellectual exercise.
Book Review: A Tale of Hate and Love and Coming of Age
Summary: 5 Stars
Old Yeller is a tale that takes you from the excitement of Little Arliss finding a scraggly yeller dog and dragging it home to the disgust and downright hatred that older brother Travis seems to have for this mut. We watch and read as Travis moves from this position to embracing the dog with love and loyalty after it saves his little brother. And then we walk with Travis through the heart-wrenching realization that he alone is the one to give old yeller that final moment.
Your heart will race with excitement and break with tears as you follow the tale of this young man learning about love and responsibility in the brutal world of the old West. This book is among ones that should be required reading in every elementary school in our country.
Walt Disney made a fine adaptation of this tale but the book itself lends far more to the reader and will last longer in his or her heart. Let your children hear you read this book to them and then encourage them to read it on their own at a later time. Don't miss Old Yeller.