Customer Reviews

Outlaw Red (Bantam Skylark Book)

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Personally, I can only read so many stories about Irish Setters that exceed all realistic performance expectations, and this book somehow cheapens its predecessors.

By putting Sean on the same pedestal that Big Red himself already occupies, Kjelgaard does a disservice to Big Red.

That being said, this is still a pretty strong book. I enjoy Kjelgaard more when he tackles other breeds (such as Snow Dog, Lion Hound, and Desert Dog), but there's no question that he brought all of his considerable writing skills to this exciting novel.

Fans of Kjelgaard know to expect taciturn human characters with hearts of gold, exciting encounters with local wildlife, and vivid descriptions of the natural setting. They will not be disappointed here. While the plot is pretty predictable, I think most readers will enjoy the journey.

An established Kjelgaard fan will certainly want to read this book, but if you're trying this author for the first time, start with Big Red or Snow Dog.

This book was much better than I expected, even though I knew about its critical acclaim. The story of a dog in the wilderness takes the reader into a world that you may have thought you could never go. But it's not just about dogs, it's about all the emotions of life and adversity for animals as well as people, and it helped me understand dogs better for it. It's no wonder that Outlaw Red won the prize for best peaceful book. Wonderful read. I recommend it.

I first read Outlaw Red and as yong girl about 30 years ago. I still go back and read it from time to time. The story is clean, honest, and it takes the reader right to the setting of the Wintapi in Canada. I love all three of Kjelgaard's books for that reason. Kjelgaard masterfully used imagery to keep his readers' interest This however, is my favorite. Sean, the pampered showdog, is haphazardly thrown into the wilderness. Through cunning and instinct the dog manages to survive the perils of his situation.
Sean's courage in adversity makes this book a perfect read for anyone of any age.

There are three books in the "Red" series. The first one is "Big Red". The second one is "Irish Red", about Mike, the son of Big Red. This is the third one, about Shaun, Big Red's son who is the ultimate show dog, and can't have a life outside the show ring for fear of damaging his looks. Danny, the hero of the earlier books, has hired Billy, another boy from the mountains to work in Mr. Haggin's kennels. Billy is the best person in his family. His relatives are thieves and trouble makers, and his uncle shows up Mr. Haggin's ranch looking for trouble. Even though Billy is a civilized young man, he is forced to protect the ranch against his uncle, and becomes a fugitive in the wilderness. Then the beautiful dog Shaun is lost in the wilderness, and his mate. They all join up for companionship and survival. There is a lot of coincidence in this story, which stretches credulity. It is best just to accept that this is a story and suspend judgement. In spite of this, "Outlaw Red" is definitely one of the best of Mr. Kjelgaard's books.

Far out in the Wintapi Wildness there is a breeding farm for Irish Setters. The top dog on the farm is Sean, a big flawless red Irish Setter. Running the farm is Ross his son Danny and a kennel boy named Billy. Late one night Billy has a argument with someone he has known his whole life. Then something happened were Billy has to run away and become a outlaw. Shortly after that Sean is sent to another farm to breed with their top dog Penny. On the trip miles into the wilderness the cage falls off a truck. Sean has never been on his own without the care of his friend Billy. Sean soon learns that without man, food will be his first challenge in the wild. After many months in the wild he finds his way to his original destination and his mate to be Penny. Where his adventure into the wild continues and he meets up with an old friend. My thoughts are that the book was one of the best I have ever read because it deals with some one who has been tossed into the wild and has to learn to survive on his own. I give it 5 stars.

In his life time, Jim Kjelgaard wrote well over forty novels for young or juvenile readers; most of which dealt with animals, in particular dogs. Most of his writing was done in the late 1940s and early 1950s. As a young man I must admit I devoured these books, giving most of them multiple readings. Several of these "youth books" had a rather profound effect on my life. The three books dealing with Irish Setters, e.g. Big Red, Irish Red and this one being reviewed here, Outlaw Red, ingrained into me a love for dogs that has lasted a life time. A fourth book, Wildlife Photographer started a life time hobby which I pursue to this day.

Outlaw Red, Son of Big Red is the story of an Irish Setter who was born to hunt but was unlucky enough to be a bit too perfect. Rather than doing the job he was born to do, he is made into a much pampered show dog and is more or less doomed to a life in a kennel. I have more to say about this later. As it might be expected to happen (Kjelgaard's books were all pretty predictable), Outlaw Red is accidentally released into the Canadian wild and is forced to live on his own, using his instincts, wits and a generous amount of good luck. This is your basic boy dog books and is arguably one of the best in this genre. Big Red, the first of the Setter series was and is the most famous, largely due to the Disney film of the early 1960s, but I, like many, feel this was a better read than the first or second books in the series.

As with most of his books, the author more or less tells the story through the eyes of the animal or animals concerned. He, the author, has tremendous descriptive power and was a natural story teller. The story here is crisp, well told and is truly a page turner. Now I will be the first to admit that some of the circumstances encountered in this read stretch credibility just a bit, but hey folks, this is a story for young men and women. I read and enjoyed Harry Potter, but I doubt if any sane individual, young or old, believed ever word that Rawlings wrote. A big part of being a great story teller is the ability to present unlikely circumstances in a light that is completely believable, or at least make the tale interesting; Kielgaard is a master at this technique.

This book, and the others by this author, are ideal reads for young people. Most of them are still in print and I note after checking with the public and school libraries, that they have quite a large following even to this day. Don't make our kid read them or he/she will hate them, but let them discover them for themselves. These are very clean books and teach so many good and desirable traits for a young person to grow into.

PURE PERSONAL COMMENT: I of course have been around dogs all of my life and in fact have owned Irish Setters. When I was young, two of the best gun dogs that I ever shot over were Irish Setters and at the same time were some of the best family dogs that you could imagine. They were a magnificent breed! Alas, this was their downfall though. They became very popular and became the darling of dog shows. There are still a few hunting blood lines out there that have held true, but they have become few and far between. The "pet" setter and the "show" setter are still sweet, loveable and goofy dogs, but to be honest they have had their brains bred completely right out of them, and most of them have trouble finding the end of their own leash. In addition to that, the puppy mill people jumped on the bandwagon and this particular breed is now plagued with a plethora of physical problems from hip dysplasia to epilepsy, (extremely common in this breed, almost to the point of being an epidemic), and everything in between. Again, there are good lines out there, but good luck in finding them. For goodness sakes do not buy from the puppy mill people or pet shops. If you do, you are likely in for a lot of heartbreak. Now you quite well may have an Irish Setter that is quite perfect, healthy, smart and wonderful...I truly hope so, but to be honest, you are one of the fewer and fewer lucky ones. If you happen to be one of those that are churning these wonderful animals out by the hundreds with no care as to breeding standards and health concerns, ad selling to the pet shop folks, then I have nothing but distain and ill will toward you. And I will tell you right now, telling me that I don't know what I am talking about here would be a lot like telling Noah that he knew nothing of the flood.

Anyway, do your kid a favor and turn them on to this one and other by the same author!Actually, you would probably like this one yourself!

Don Blankenship
The Ozarks

My favorite book I have read this year is Outlaw Red by Jim Kejelgaard, although I can't say I have read it because I'm still reading it. Outlaw Red is about a show dog named Sean, who wants to be a hunting dog like his father Big Red. The book tells you how Sean dreams about running and hunting with his favorite trainer Danny Picket. He finally gets his wish, but not the way Sean expected! Sean was on the way to a show in an old rickety truck, when the truck jolted and he bursted out the back end of the truck. Not long after he was thrown into the wild, Sean starts to feel a gaping hole where companionship should be. On his adventures he runs across an Irish Setter, like himself, named Penny. After awhile Penny and Sean fall in love, and the only thing standing between them is a chicken wire fence. After much planning Penny finds a way to jump the fence. Penny and Sean are free to run in the wild.

This is one of my favorite books out of all 3. In Big Red, Sean,Mike and their brothers are born leading to Irish Red, which is mostly about Mike the less attractive yet with the best nose of all and mentioned only a little bit is Sean the older and handsomest of the pups. Sean was never as energtic as Mike but in Outlaw Red, he is. He gets lost in the wilderness and finds a mate, which he must protect from a coyote. Its a wonderful book and I would recomend it to all who like animal-adventure stories and have read Kavik the Wolf Dog.

Set in the Wintapi a gorgeous setter,sean, has captured the heart of a young man. dumped into the wilderness, pampered sean must survive on his own with a ruthless coyote on his trail. If sean survives can the boy who loves him keep him for himself?

I bought this book used to complete the Kjelgaard series. They are written for young people (10-15 years old), but I had read the books at that age, loved them, remembered them fondly, and wanted to read them again.

The 1st two in the series, Big Red, and Son of Big Red, I was able to purchase new. Outlaw Red was only available used from a bookseller on Amazon. I was a little reluctant, not sure of the reliability of the seller to deliver and the condition of the book. I need not have been. The book arrived sooner than expected and although it was advertised as "Good" condition, I think a better description would have been "Nearly New". The price was also quite acceptable, around $5.00 with just a few dollars shipping. I would purchase from this seller again.