Old Yeller is yet another children's classic I'd never read before now. I don't think I've watched the movie either, but of course I knew how it ends. However, I didn't expect the entire book to basically be just about getting to that ending. It's even stated on the first page that the narrator, Travis, would end up having to kill this stray. For me, that definitely dampened the enjoyment of the story of Travis and Old Yeller becoming good friends. What bothered me the most, though, was Travis's little brother Arliss. Oh my goodness, that kid is annoying! Every time he gets upset about something, he gets violent, even with his own mother. And it basically goes unchecked. It just all seems extreme and unnecessary. And in the end, I was left wondering what the author's intention was in writing this book. And would it have been such a classic if it weren't for the tragic ending? Take that away, and you just have the story of a boy and his dog, which has been done. ( )

Published in the 1950's, Old Yeller has been a household book that families have enjoyed for decades, and I'm sure it will be a classic for many more years to come in the future. The main character in this book is Travis Coates a 14 year old boy who has been given a request by his dad to take care of the family while he is gone from the family farm. Travis slowly learns what love, responsibility, and loyalty are all about. Will he do everything at his young age to be considered a man in his father and mother's eyes. Only the pages will reveal the answers.

Great story about a boy and his courageous dog. Sad ending. ( )

A great American classic for coming of age children. One of the key lessons children experience is how the written word and their imagination can illicit the same emotional response as if they were in the story themselves. Unfortunately, like Gambles mother being shot, it appears we teach a fundamental of reading through the repetitive references to death and loss. ( )

A boy, before he really grows up, is pretty much like a wild animal. He can get the wits scared clear out of him today and by tomorrow have forgotten all about it.

Of course, everyone my age knows this story. The Wonderful World of Disney, introduced by Mr. Disney himself, fed a whole generation with delights of this sort; just put on the TV at 7:00 on Sunday night and watch something wonderful, but don’t forget because there is no DVR, so if you miss it, you are waiting for summer reruns.

Because I knew the story and what to expect, I thought I might not have a really emotional reaction to the end, but alas the two boxes of tissues I bought came in handy. Some of the tears were for the story and the characters and Yeller, of course, but some of them were for that little girl who sat frozen to a flickering TV screen in the living room of a four room house, with her three sisters and her precious mother and father, making a memory that would last all her life.
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