Customer Reviews

Old Yeller

5 star:		(123)
4 star:		(25)
3 star:		(11)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

I'm a 7th grade teacher and I introduced my students to this novel for the first time this year. To my amazement they had never even heard of OLD YELLER. Now, middle school students can be the toughest audience in the world but THEY LOVED THIS BOOK.

Author Fred Gipson perfectly captures the time period of Texas in the late 1800's and the challenges of daily life. Into the mix of chores and adventures on the farm is the universal bond of a boy and his dog. Travis and Old Yeller are two characters that any child will immediately connect with and grow to love. And naturally as many novels geared towards younger readers, the conclusion will remain with them long after the novel has been read.

On a side note I must also recommend the classic Walt Disney version of OLD YELLER (VHS or DVD). Young readers will enjoy the similarities and differences between novel and movie. It's an excellent example to build discussion or writing lessons involving comparisons or contrasts.

And while I have continually mentioned young readers I should also comment that OLD YELLER is a must-read for people of any age group. So the next time you need to be entertained by a great novel, pick up this classic.

This heart-warming book is about Old Yeller, (Which mean 'Yellow' in those days) a stray golden-brown dog which Travis' little brother (Little Arliss)finds. Travis hates the dog, who they named 'Old Yeller', until Old Yeller saves Travis' life. Soon they are best buddies, but the fate that is awaiting at the end brings them apart. This book is perfect for ages 7 and up, and is a terrific day-to-day read. This has 16 exciting chapters for either read aloud or silent reading. If your lookin' for a book to read, It's Old Yeller.

Old Yeller is the beautiful, touching story of a boy and his big "yeller" dog.

When Travis's father goes on a cattle drive, Travis takes over the farm. He takes on a big task and is furious to find a big, one-eared, yellow dog eats thier meat, plays in their drinking water, and runs away when his family is in dire need of help. But Old Yeller proves himself when he saves Travis's litttle brother, Arliss, from a mad mother bear.

I loved reading Old Yeller because the story became real. I love dogs and it was amazing how detailed the story was. It was touching to read about how close Travis and Old Yeller were brought together.

Old Yeller is a classic novel everyone can read. Fred Gipson tells about the love and loyalty the characters possess for one another. I highly recommend this touching story that filled me with emotion and made my day forever.

I just finished Fred Gipson's book Old Yeller, and it was excellent. I liked this book because it tells how Travis didn't like Old Yeller at first but then Old Yeller shows it was a good idea to keep him. I would highly recommend this book to anyone. If you read Hound Dog Man you will love this book. This is a great book, you can't wait to find out what happens next. I hope you will enjoy this book as much as I did. If you are looking for a good dog story, try old yeller.

I just recently read Old Yeller for a book report and I enjoyed it greatly. I give it five stars for being easy to read and heart tugging. Some people like books that tug and this one does. Travis, the oldest boy, has to take charge when he dad leaves for driving cattle. He looks after his mother and his little brother, Arliss. While his dad is gone a dog shows up. He's an ugly Yeller dog, and yet the decided to keep him. Well they go through a lot together, one marking their wild pigs. When they do this, things just go down hill. I'm going to stop right there, and hope you pick this book up and read it.

The story Old Yeller by Fred Gipson is a realistic fiction book. It tells about a fourteen year old boy named Travis who was left in charge of his family and the farm while his papa was away on a cattle drive. One day an old yeller dog shows up and steals some meat and wrecks the fence. At first Travis is ready to shoot the dog, but his little brother didn't let him. Travis really wanted a horse not a big ugly slick-haired yeller dog with a chewed off ear and a stub tail. Travis comes to love and depend on Old Yeller. They work together keeping up with the farm and watching out for raccoons in the corn patch. Old Yeller saves Travis from wild hogs. Can Travis do the same for his best friend? Read the story to find out.
I enjoyed reading this book and I recommend it to anyone who is a dog lover. Also, this story proves that a dog is a man's best friend. Finally, the book Old Yeller taught me a lesson that you shouldn't judge things by the way they look.

What made me choose this book is the movie. I saw the movie and I really liked it so I thought the book would be good too.What I thought the book would be about is a boy and his dog doing things together like hunting. I felt sad for Old Yeller, Travis, Arliss, and Ma because of what happend. The book was what I expected it to be. I still feel the same about the book.
The main characters in the story are Old Yeller, Travis, Arliss, and Ma. It takes place in the late 1860's, in Birdsong Creek in the hills of Texas. When Pa goes away to Abline,Kansas to give cattle to the market for money, while Travis, Arliss and Ma are left to take care of things. One night this old yeller dog ate some meat of theirs and Travis got real mad at him. Little Arliss wanted to keep him and he got to because Travis had a dog when he was younger. One day when Arliss gets into a dangerous situtation with a bear Old Yeller saves him. After that Travis likes old Yeller better. Later they start doing things together and become best friends until one day changes it all. The type of book that this is is a historical fiction. These things could happen in real life but they didn't. The author of this book is Fred Gipson. I found the book exicting because of all the things that happen ,like the bear attack, and I found it sweet too because Old Yeller would do anything to help and protect the family. I would recomend the book to other readers because it's a good book. The age group that I think is approite for this book it ages eight and up. If you like exicting books this is the one for you!

I liked Old Yeller because it is about a young boy whosedad goes away leaves him in charge. He has his work cut out for him and then this dog comes along. At first they dont get along but then the dog saves his brothers life.

The worst part of the book is when the wild boars catch the dog and slashed his side open. The slash in his side revealed his enternal organs. This leaves him two choices either patch him up or kill him.

The setting is the most illustrated part of this book. It makes you feel as if you are out west killng and growing what you eat.The description of the wild life is so realistic it seems to walk out of the book.

Alexandra Y 10/25/02
Reading Response #5
Old Yeller By Fred Gipson

I think that Old Yeller is a good book. There are many carefully described details and thoughtful characters. This book is about a 14-year old boy named Travis who becomes the "man" of his family. While his father is gone, Travis becomes friends with an old, yellow dog who shows up at their cabin. He doesn't like this dog at all until something bad happens to his brother, Arliss and Old Yeller comes to the rescue. This book is filled with friendship, happiness, excitement, and sadness, which reminds me of the movie Shiloh.
Old Yeller takes place in the Texas hills during the 1860's. The setting is very important because it shows how hard it was to manage living. For example, they didn't have soap back then. They would have to mix lye water with hog fat and boil it. The setting also explains that they lived in the country area and had to prepare very hard each year for the comings of winter. This is one reason why they needed a dog to help. Luckily, Old Yeller joined the family and helped along!
If I could meet the author, Fred Gipson, I would ask him many questions. Was he the first author to write about a boy and a dog's friendship? Did many people copy his idea because they liked his book? Or did he get his plot idea from another author? Also, I would ask him if this story is true. While reading Old Yeller, I felt as if it really happened because of the wonderful details. I think it would be quite amazing if this plot weren't a true story because I felt that Old Yeller is very realistic and I felt very close to the characters. They have unique personalities.
Old Yeller reminds me of life in the world. Like the world, this book has sadness, joy, happiness, problems, and pain. In the world there are a lot pain, like when Old Yeller repeatedly gets hit by a rock. I think this is one of the reasons why this book is so interesting to read.
Old Yeller is a great book. I think that it was a good idea for this book to get a Newbury Honor. I recommend Old Yeller to everyone who likes A Day No Pigs Would Die by R. Peck. Both books are about an animal that becomes an important part of the main character's lives.

I love dogs, and when I was about ten or eleven I went through a phase of reading all the classic dog books: "Sounder," "Stone Fox," "Shiloh," "Where the Red Fern Grows," "Big Red," "The Call of the Wild," "White Fang." Somehow, I missed out on "Old Yeller." I decided it was high time I pick it up and remedy the deficit.

"Old Yeller" is a well-written, richly rendered tale of life on the Texas frontier in the 1860s. The hardships, dangers, and rewards of a life hard-wrought from the wilderness are depicted unsparingly. It's an often brutal existence, and Gipson's characters are equal to it - tough and unsentimental but unashamed to care about each other. The prose is descriptive and easy to read, and the story itself moves quickly. It's full of adventure, but has the somber tone of a serious coming-of-age novel.

Ultimately, though, "Old Yeller" simply didn't move me. Perhaps it would have when I was younger. Maybe I've heard so many times what a tearjerker this book is that I was already desensitized - but I don't think that's it, as I still mist up when I reread "Red Fern," and if having read a book several times doesn't diminish the impact of a sad ending, nothing will. More likely, there just wasn't enough in this book to explain the special bond Travis shared with Old Yeller. Mostly Travis talks about what Old Yeller does for him - the numerous occasions in which he saved someone's life, and how helpful he is around the farm - but there's little exploration of their emotional connection. In the context of the story and the characters it makes sense: frontier settlers in the 1860s didn't have much time to sit around loving on their dogs. Travis's affection for Old Yeller is clear enough in his actions and words, but somehow I simply didn't "feel" it.

"Old Yeller" is an excellent novel with plenty to offer casual and thoughtful readers alike. It just didn't connect with me, but then, I know not every book will, even every book considered a classic. Fans of adventure stories, historical fiction, and animal tales will find "Old Yeller" well worth their while. Personally, though, I'll stick to "Where the Red Fern Grows."