White Fang (Puffin Classics) [Mass Market Paperback]

Jack London (Author), Annabel Large (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1, 1994 | ISBN-10: 1858137403 | ISBN-13: 978-1858137407

Born in the wilds of the freezing Yukon, the wolf-cub White Fang soon learns the harsh laws of nature, growing fiercer and more independent in his struggle to survive. Yet buried deep inside him are distant memories of affection and love - can he learn to trust man again?

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Gr. 6-8. Ed Young, whose haunting illustrations of the wolf made his Caldecott- winning Lon Po Po (1989) so memorable, was well chosen as the illustrator for the Scribner Illustrated Classics edition of White Fang. Jack London's 1906 novel. As many will remember, London tells the story of a wolf-dog who endures great cruelty before he comes to know human kindness. The 12 pastel illustrations illuminate the text with their dramatic use of light and dark, sensitively delineated forms, and soft, subtle shades of color. A handsome new edition of a longtime favorite. Carolyn Phelan
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

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--This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 271 pages
• Publisher: Puffin (November 1, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1858137403
• ISBN-13: 978-1858137407
• ASIN: 0140366679
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (228 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,024,549 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

98 of 101 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Really good literature on a fascinating time in Western history, May 27, 2010

By 

Kurt A. Johnson (North-Central Illinois, USA) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: White Fang (Kindle Edition)

This is the story of White Fang - 3/4 wolf and 1/4 dog. It tells of White Fangs parentage, his birth, his early days in the wild, his meeting with men and learning to live with them, of his meeting with white men and learning to live with them. Along the way, he learns some terribly hard lessons, and also learns some great joys as well.

I must say, now that I have finally taken the time to read this book, I clearly see why it is considered a classic! The story is very well-written, filled with action and adventure, and presents a strangely compelling world - the world of the Arctic Circle at the beginning of the 20th century. Now, this is no happy-happy book written for the more sensitive reader. Indeed, the story is filled with violence and conflict and death, much as the Yukon was back then.

I really found this book to be compelling reading, one that I could not put down. Indeed, one of the most interesting facts is how much this story is the mirror opposite of The Call of the Wild, in which a dog moves from the company of men to living in the wild. Anyway, if you want to read some really good literature on a fascinating time in Western history, then get this book. You won't be disappointed!

54 of 58 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Story, January 6, 2010

By 

Cheryl Koopmann "GinnyCullen" (Georgetown, TX USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: White Fang (Kindle Edition)

This is a great story that I have read many times. It is one of those books that I fall back on when I need a comforting story to read.
It follows the life of one poor dog as he moves from one master to another, and even ends up as a fighting dog at one point. Its a bit like "Black Beauty" I guess seeing as it follows an animals life, but white fang is more of a story. White Fang is not just some docile horse but a real wild dog that has survived where others haven't. A great read and a great story.

46 of 50 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Adventure in the Wild, December 3, 2003

By 

Paul McGrath (Sacramento, CA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: White Fang (Puffin Classics) (Mass Market Paperback)

As a boy I used to love books like this, about untamed nature and woodlore and woodcraft, but it has been many years since I've read them. I recently had the occasion to revisit this excellent novel, and found that it has aged quite well and is still a terrific read.

The story has to do with a wolf named White Fang, and begins before he was born, with his father and mother leading a pack in the dead of winter in the frozen Canadian wilderness. There is no game around and all are starving. They harass and harry a beleaguered dog-sled team over the course of several days, picking the dogs off one by one, then finally surrounding the one remaining man. He builds a ring of fire to protect himself from these ravenous wolves, but knows he soon must succumb to exhaustion. He notices the she-wolf, sitting patiently outside the ring, seemingly indifferent--except for the string of drool coming out of her mouth in anticipation of making a meal out of him.

That is the lesson here, in this story of White Fang. It is a savage world, a world in which you either kill or are killed, eat or are eaten. His first day out of the den he kills and eats a small bird, then in turn is almost eaten by a hawk. He observes a porcupine roll itself into a ball to defend itself against a lynx, then observes the lynx yowl in pain after foolishly getting stung. The lynx plays another prominent role. Trying to survive a typical lean winter, White Fang's mother takes the desperate step of going to the absent lynx's den to eat its offspring. The enraged lynx later comes to their den and attacks, but with the help of a growing White Fang, they defeat it. It also becomes a meal.

White Fang eventually gets taken in by men, first an Indian tribe where he is "tamed" with brutality, then by white traders who use him for their own base purposes. Through it all we see the cruel world in which he lives and feel his pain and hunger and anger. It is a well-plotted adventure carefully observed, and serves as a great reminder of how savage the untamed wilderness is, and that mankind is often only a bare step above it.