Lassie Come-Home

It's way too heartbreaking! Just utterly heartbreaking!! Don't read it! You'll never get the sorrow out of your heart! It's tragic! PS To be fair, I couldn't finish it, it must redeem itself. But I couldn't get through it. It just broke my heart.

I loved the lassie movie as a kid! The 90s film and later I watched the 2005 film and loved it even more! I grew up wanting a rough collie like lassie but never got one. Now I decided to read the book and I am loving it so far! I am from the UK, near London, but even for me I have to figure out how to say the old language of the 40s, but I am trying and it's wonderful that it is like that. I love classics and specially living books like this that are still relevant today in my opinion. I had to buy the 1940 edition and as I had a free book credit I got it for free and only paid shipping, mine came without the dust jacket but that's okay, the story is so engaging I can't put it down, I am going to read it to my children too after I have finished, I recommend it for children and adults alike! If you love animals and specially dogs, this is one every animal lover must read, after I have read the book I am going to rewatch the movie also!! This is a treasure I am going to pass down to my future generations, well deserving on any home library shelf! I feel these books aren't appreciated by youth today, in favor of fun silly books, I am nurturing in my children a love for vintage books and how important it is to read them.

This novel is great. I have loved it since I was a little boy. My father read it to me and my brothers every night for a few months. And when he finished, I read it again. When I pick it up now I am filled with fond memories of those months. And I must say that this book is one of my favorites. I, with all due respect, disagree with one of the other reviewers who reviewed this item and said it was not for kids. This is the perfect book for kids, and is perfect to read aloud. The drama is engrossing, but is not too intense for youngsters. It is the perfect dog book. A dog-lover myself, I have read a great many dog books. And this tops the list. Never before or since has an author captured so poignantly the affection between a boy and his dog. And never before or since has an author tried that affection with so many difficulties and set-backs. But, as we all know, in the end Lassie is there to greet Joe by the school gate. It's in the best three endings I've ever read (the other two being TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD and A TALE OF TWO CITIES). This is a classic, and it's one of my favorites. I honestly cannot even begin to understand why a person would give this book anything but five stars. HIGHLY recommended.

Still an interesting, emotion-provoking and relevant read for the 21st century's jaded youth. It's about the most basic kind of friendship and loyalty, where an animal exhibits more of both than do the humans. Some of the Depression-era references and rigid class distinctions probably aren't as relevant today, but the core of the book, the love of and for an animal, remains. Highly recommended.

I have to disagree with a former reviewer...I was quite surprised to see the negativity about this book. I think my standards for quality writing are pretty high...I will not read twaddle to my kids! Also when I read it I remarked to myself that wow, a book written (re)written in the 1990s and not politically-correct, as I hate those types of books, for example modern Nancy Drew books... Someone once said (and I forget who), "80% of the books were written after 1971 and 80% of those should have been left trees." If I have the date wrong, someone can correct me, but that is the date I would use if I were talking about poorly written books. Now granted, I have never read the original version. In fact, this is the first version I ever read and was pleased that it wasn't what I expected, having only ever seen the t.v. version.The illustrations are amazing and the language is very moving...we are swept up with emotion (me and my 5 year old) and I keep making him wait to read the next "chapter" which leaves us hanging and wanting more! It's written in 3 Parts and I'm seeing how this could be used as a wonderful living book to study dogs, Scotland, aristocracy, class systems, dog shows, the coal mines, tea time , animal cruelty and proper handling, England, ethics and character issues (faithfulness, loyalty, kindness, sacrifice, perseverance, honor, etc.) I'm sure you smarty-pants are all aware of the fact that Lassie was originally written in 1938 as a short-story and then 1940 as a novel, but I was only familiar with the American tv show version...quite different!Lassie is a beloved dog of a poor family who have to sell her. The rich duke buys her for showing, but Lassie will have none of it, and at 4 pm everyday she takes off to her real home. Fed up, the duke sends her up to Scotland to stay. This is the story of a kind little girl, a determined dog, the trials and tribulations of Lassie's travel and the sacrificial love of the father of the poor family. That's the quick summary, but there is so much more to this story than meets the eye.I hope you all get a chance to soak up this book with your kids...ALL ages will love it from 5 to 95! That's my definition of a living book.

I give this book five stars because it is very fun and it teaches me vocabulary. This book is fun because this dog has to travel far from his family and has many fun adventures. It teaches us vocabulary by using them in a sentence.

I think it is a great book that teaches children and adults too, the feelings of the man's best friend,the dog,who doesn't want to leave its master when he has to give him away because he hasn't got enough money. I think that the author wanted to give children a great story but I also think that he wanted to tell children that a dog is the man's best friend and that it will never let them down when they will need somebody.I have a dog too and I think that what the author wanted to tell us is true.Well that's my opinion about this book.