A Family of Readers by Roger Sutton

Author:Roger Sutton [Sutton, Roger]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
ISBN: 978-0-7636-6217-2
Publisher: Candlewick Press
Published: 2010-03-24T16:00:00+00:00

When I was a child, I loved animal stories. It seemed back then that the dog or the cat or the horse started out as words on a page but quickly became flesh and blood and moved directly into my heart. At some point the words were dissolved by my tears, and I would make out the rest of the passage by blotting my tears on my sleeve.

One of the great animal stories of all time is The Incredible Journey by Sheila Burnford. The book was first published in 1961, but nothing about it seems dated. The land the animals travel over, beautifully described, is a part of Canada that probably has not changed. Neither have the emotions the story evokes.

Three animals — Bodger, an old English bull terrier; Luath, a Labrador retriever; and Tao, a Siamese cat — undertake a two-hundred-mile journey to reach their family. None of the animals could have survived the journey alone, but by mutual caring and help, they succeed.

I reread the book this summer, and near the end, the Hunter family stands at the edge of the woods. They think the dogs and cat are lost and they’ll never see them again. Then young Elizabeth hears something. Her father, not daring to believe, gives a whistle. A joyous answering bark rings through the hills, and Luath and Tao come into the clearing. By the time old Bodger makes his appearance, his ragged banner of a tail streaming out behind him, I am once again blotting my tears on my sleeve.

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