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Old Yeller
Old Yeller
Old Yeller
Audiobook3 hours

Old Yeller

Written by Fred Gipson

Narrated by Peter Francis James

Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

4.5/5

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About this audiobook

Awarded the Newbery Honor

When a novel like Huckleberry Finn, or The Yearling, comes along it defies customary adjectives because of the intensity of the respouse it evokes in the reader. Such a book, we submit, is Old Yeller; to read this eloquently simple story of a boy and his dog in the Texas hill country is an unforgettable and deeply moving experience.

 

When his father sets out on a cattle drive for the summer, fourteen-year-old Travis is left to take care of his family and their farm, and he faces new, unanticipated and often perilous responsibilities in the wilderness of early fronteir Texas. But Travis is not alone. He finds help and comfort in the courage and unwavering love of the stray animal who comes to be his most loyal and very best friend: the big yellow dog Travis calls "Old Yeller."

An enduring and award-winning American classic, Fred Gipson's Old Yeller stands as one of the most beloved novels ever produced in this country, and one that will live in the hearts and minds of readers for generations to come.

 

 

LanguageEnglish
PublisherHarperCollins
Release dateJan 5, 2010
ISBN9780061967610
Author

Fred Gipson

With Old Yeller, Fred Gipson secured his place as one of the finest novelists in America. The book was published to instant acclaim and has become one of the most beloved children's classics ever written. Since its publication in 1956, Old Yeller has won countless awards, including the 1957 Newbery Honor. Mr. Gipson's other works include both fiction and non-fiction. He grew up in the Texas hill country and died in 1973.

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Reviews for Old Yeller

Rating: 4.5673076923076925 out of 5 stars
4.5/5

104 ratings42 reviews

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  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Great story really enjoyed brought back memories of the movie
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Can anyone look into the dog's eyes through Gibson's character and NOT cry? A soothing and then gut wrenching story for all of us who need to keep re-learning about how death can strike it's fist into our lives. This is the second book in my "book of books" so I guess that means I read it in 1966 or 1967.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    This is one of my most favorite books of all time. Because its funny its also very sad. Well it starts out this boys dad was going to war so the dad told him he was the man of the house.So later on in the book theres a dog that is chasing a rabbit and he startles on of their horses.The boy was planting seed on their farm when the dog startled the horse it started running and it tore down the whole fence. The boy was being dragged by the horse and.......to find out what happens next read Old Yeller by Fred Gipson.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    This might well be the first book I ever read (I'm not sure) . I was about ten at the time and i remember laughing and crying and everything in between.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Impressed! I went into listening to this audiobook having a basic understanding of the story from the movie which I watched years ago. The book was significantly better than the movie, and while still tragic, resolved in a more noble, less heart wrenching way. The vernacular style of writing and the authenticity are very evident and are shining examples of what make this book so excellent.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    this book is really good, but it made me cry. I don't like to cry.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Summary: Travis's papa was leaving to go on a cattle drive to earn the family money, so he told Travis that he was the man of the family and he wants him to take care of everybody while he is gone. While papa was gone, a stray yeller dog showed up and ate their meat, but little Arliss liked the dog so they kept him. Travis didn't like the dog at all, but one day old yeller saved Arliss from a bear and that is when Travis changed his mind about the dog. Old yeller started to go to work with Travis and they did everything together. Then one day Travis was marking some pigs and he fell into where the pigs were and got hurt. Old yeller fought them off so that Travis could get away. After he got away he went back to see if old yelller made it. He was in pretty bad shape so Travis wrapped him up and covered him up and went and got his mama to help him. They were both in bed for a while before they started to feel better. But there were animals getting sick and they were having to shoot and burn them. One day they shot their cow and mama and Lisbeth went to burn it but they ran into a wolf that was sick. It tried to attack them but old yeller had followed them and saved them until Travis could shoot the wolf. In the end he has to shoot old yeller too because he was bit by the wolf that was sick. Travis was very sad until one day the puppy that Lisbeth gave him reminded him of old yeller and this made him very happy again, but he would never forget old yeller.Personal Reaction: I love this story! It is a good family book, and shows the true meaning of loyalty to someone. It shows how this family lived and how Travis grew up. Maybe it is because I am older, but I really enjoy reading books from this era. I love my pet and I know how much you can get attach to your pets.Classroom Extension Ideas: We can talk about our pets that we have at home. They can bring pictures of their pets and tell about things they do together.The students can keep a journal on the book as we read it in class. Then we can discuss what they liked and even disliked about the book.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    it was a really good book. in the beggining it was a little bit confusing but i really liked it
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Fred Gipson's Old Yeller - another classic I missed when I was a child. Travis is a boy on the verge of manhood in 1800's Texas, when Old Yeller enters his life. Although Travis doesn't see the dog's worth right away, he eventually grows to love Yeller. When the story came to it's inevitable tragic end, it had me crying like a baby.The story of Old Yeller is touching, and the love and loyalty that the characters have for each other, will stay with you long after you've put the book down. It's easy to see why this book has endured through the years to become a perennial children's classic.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Another classic I missed as a kid. This is the story of Old Yeller, the mangy dog that shows up at the Coates ranch. Old Yeller has several adventures saving crops, kids and other family before his final battle with a rabid wolf.What a beautiful story.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Travis is the eldest boy in the family. Arliss is Travis little brother and its up to Travis to look over little Arliss. There father Jim has left Little Arliss, Travis, and Katie( the mother). After awhile a dog finds this family. Arliss loved the dog and named it Old yeller. Travis saw Yeller as a "rascal". Travis and little Arliss argued a lot and once Arliss used the trick to fling rocks Travis thought him incase of snakes.The rightful owner of Yeller shows up looking for his dog and recognizing that the family has become attached to Yeller, trades the dog to Arliss for a home-cooked meal prepared by Travis' mother Katie. Soon the family came to love Yeller. Old Yeller saved the family when a she-bear came and tried to save her baby which Arliss was clinging onto. Yeller also saved Travis from wild boars even though Yeller got seriously wounded and stitched up afterwards. Mama (Katie) and Lisabeth are attacked by a wolf and Yeller saves them with a cost. Later, Yeller has to be killed due to rabies from the wolf and it is Travis who has to shoot him. It is discovered that Yeller had children with Lisabeths' dog and one of them reminds Travis of Old Yeller and cheers him up.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    This is a great story which is somewhere between children's fantasy and adult realistic novel. Some of the events are hard to believe from an adult perspective but for a 14 year old Travis Coates anything is possible. The dramatic ending sticks with you, and for good reason, the whole book builds up to it. There is death, near death and foreshadowing of death from the start. It is a fable about mortality, but also renewal and focusing on the good things, not the bad. From a literary perspective it has a fair amount of authentic grammar from 19th century frontier farm life, I learned some new words.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Fred Gibson wrote an interesting story called “Old Yeller.” In his story a young man named Travis is left to watch over his family and be the man of the house while his dad is off moving cattle up the country and won’t return for one year. Soon a stray yellow dog shows up and steals food from the family and Travis wants to beat the dog for his crime. However, Travis’s little brother comes to the dogs rescue and begs his mom to stop him. His little brother then asks the mom if he can keep it, his mom reluctantly agrees. The story continues with amazing events where the dog rescues the family and touches the family’s heart. Then this seemingly happy tail takes a turn for the worst when a man came to his house and warns him of a deadly disease. Subtle signs of the disease begin to pop up until their live stock is affected by this terrifying disease. The story ends the death of the big yellow dog, but a lesson of manhood.This book is a short tail fit for most reading levels and I would recommend this classic to anyone. If someone were looking for the book, it has a picture of a happy looking yellow dog on the cover and a boy sitting of an old fence.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    The dog dies. Trust me save yourself. I thought the movie was tramatizing, the book was twice as bad. It is a good book, but all I can think of is poor Old Yeller getting shot...
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Finally got around to reading this. A great read for children AND adults!
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I guess I’m doing a little bit of classic YA reading, but I have no idea how I missed all of these classics when I was younger!Like Old Yeller by Fred Gipson. Old Yeller is a mangy dog who Travis ends up loving. Old Yeller protects the family, helps them while Travis’s father is away, and becomes part of the family itself.Unfortunately (and you find this out on page 1, so I’m not spoiling anything), Travis must kill Old Yeller, which breaks his heart.This is a classic boy-and-dog story. For the full review, visit Love at First Book
  • Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
    2/5
    "We called him Old Yeller... I remember like yesterday how he strayed in out of nowhere to our log cabin on Birdsong Creek. He made me so mad at first that I wanted to kill him. Then, later, when I had to kill him, it was like having to shoot some of my own folks." (first page of the book)

    i'm guessing most of you know this story but I was surprised to find out that the end was revealed in the second paragraph. (see above)

    Now, I did not choose to read this book again. Reading it in my youth was enough for me. But, my son choose this book for his current reading assignment (classic novel) and we read together every night. I warned him that the story would be sad but he had his mind made up.

    So, we read it and I was fine... up until the shooting part. After that, I couldn't hide my tears. Maybe if I wasn't reading aloud, but it was obvious. And, my son laughed. Then he took the book from me and read a page or two until I decided I could handle reading again... barely. A least my crying made the story less sad for him.

    Recommended to:
    People who want to cry... ;) No, seriously I think this book would be good for people who like to read about pioneer times or um... people who like to cry about animals.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    A vastly simplified telling of the movie script, which was a somewhat simplified version of the book.There will still be hard things for younger readers, but juniors can handle the sad things with some assistance.
  • Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
    2/5
    Old Yeller is a story of a dog who was found by a boy named Travis eating his family's meat. Travis and his family hated the dog at first but came to love him in the end when Old Yeller saves them mutiple times. One day Travis is told about a deadly disease going around killing people and animals called hydrophobia. During one of thier adventures Old Yeller is bitten by a wolf with hydrophobia and Travis is told to shoot his dog. Travis thinks theres a possibility that Old Yeller won't get it.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I read the book as a kid and when I listened to it right now it brought back great memories.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I have always wanted to read this book . This book is about Travis who is left to take care of his Mama and little brother while his father and the other men of the village go on a long cattle drive. While his father is gone a old mangy dog shows up and steals the meat they have left .... Arliss his little brother wants to keep the dog. Travis is not keen on keeping him but soon the dog he calls Old Yeller is helping him with everything and saves him and his brothers, Mama, and a friend Lisbeth's lives. When the dog is attacked by a wolf that is sick, Travis has to put the dog down and he is heart broken ... Papa comes back the next day with a horse for Travis. This is a very touching story i am glad i read it.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    i like this book and i want other peoples to see it because it will make you to be friendly to your pets for some people but for me it worked on me it made me to be kinder to my pet cat. So i think that this book will help you alot with your pets maybe it could tell you how to treat a pet better that usual. SO TRY THIS BOOK OUT
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    It seems there are only a few times that American society generally holds it acceptable for men to cry. When you discard being kicked in the crotch or having your favorite team win the Super bowl, you're left with reading the end of Old Yeller.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Old Yeller was a spectacular book. It was very heart warming along with exciting action. Gipson made me feel connected to the characters. There were also a lot of descriptive details to describe the situation and the setting. Old Yeller was one of the best books I have ever read.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Super awesome book that you should read because I said so and I know everything. It was a very emotional book and I would have cried but I a man. You have to read this book.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    It is an old story,a boy named Travis Coates ,and his father needs to leave the house because of the family livelihood,so,all of the heavy responsbility which he should carry.one day,therer is a big dog in his house'door,and still stay there.Then,Travis has to feed it,but he doesn't want to do that.After somethings,the dog named Yeller not noly saved his life,but teached him a lot of useful things.So,throgh this story,we know some truth.first,we must learn to how to be a responsility person;second,we should learn to be brave;and third,we have to know,not everything has a good end,but we should strive.I think this story is a good choice for everyone,especially for families,they will be cry,as well as laugh,together.It is very touching when you read it,of course,i will watch a movie about it.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    5 stars

    You may have seen the Walt Disney movie but you really need to read the book, it is so much better.

    This is one of my all time favorite books. I read it right after I watched the Walt Disney movie when I was eight years old (almost 40 years ago). First book to ever make me cry. I knew Old Yeller would save Travis, I knew the dog would die. I still cried so hard my mom made me stay home from school the next day. Any book that can affect you that much is a book worth re-reading. I read it again last night. I knew that dog would save Travis, I knew the dog would die. I cried really hard.

  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    This story is told by Travis, a young teenage boy who is left to man the house and homestead while his father drives cattle north to market. He lives with his mother and younger brother, Arliss, who is five. Travis faces many dangers while his father is gone, but Old Yeller is there to save all of their lives. Old Yeller showed up one morning after eating all their meat hanging outside and Travis tries to run him off. Little Arliss took right to Old Yeller though and wanted to keep him. Travis doesn't like having the dog around until he saves little Arliss from a mad momma bear. Then he helps Travis tame an ornery milk cow and save his life when Travis is torn up by some hogs. Hydrophobia is going around the territory and Travis was scared to death of it, but must shoot their bull and milk cow because of it. His momma and a neighbor girl and burning the carcasses when a loan wolf tries to attack them, but is thwarted by Old Yeller. Travis is able to shoot the wolf and then realizes Old Yeller would have contracted the disease as well and has to shoot him as well. It was a detrimental thing for Travis.I have seen this movie many times, but had never read the book until now. They are very similar, but I found my heart racing as I read through the dangers. School age kids love this story and can relate to it where I live. This is why it's a great book to read to a class.
  • Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
    2/5
    The book old yeller is about a old dog name old yeller. He wasnt the best dog in the world but he was good. He will help the family out. An other think but he couldnt do it all. The reson he was there because there are bears in the wood so the family needs a dog. One day the family wanted to kill the old yeller and thats wht they did.I really didnt like the old yeller wasnt the best book ever. I know the dog was old but i just didnt like it. The reson i read it was because people told me to read it but i didnt like it at all. I dont have much to say becuase i thought it wasnt good. i will maybe read it agian but when i get old maybe i will understand it better when i am older.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    This book is written about an old dog. The dog is smart, honest, and patient. The dog gave the main character's family special experience. They work together and play togeter. This book moved me. Before i feed a dog. It's very smart too. I love it, and it brought a lot of fan to me. But it is a pity that it lost. I like reading this book.