Lassie Come-Home

This was the first full length book I ever read (to myself, as opposed to having it read to me). I was eight. Now, returning to it shortly after my 60th birthday, I find it a treasure, every bit as good as I remember it. It was largely a result of my reading this book that I grew up with collies, three of them in my formative years, and having some experience of them, I was doubtful if the plot of this book was really to be taken at face value. But, reading it again, I find myself swallowing it whole. The great strength of it is that it is told from the point of view of the main character, Lassie the dog. Without gimmicks such as first person narrative, it proceeds to explain what she must have felt, how she decided what to do, and what drove her to undertake something that was impossible on its face - a 400 mile journey on her own paws to reunite with her beloved master. The author/narrator, whom I imagine as a gray-bearded Professor Emeritus from the University of Glasgow (only a Scotsman could understand collies so well, in my admittedly biased view), patiently explains his conclusions, as to a child: she could not reason her way out of trouble and couldn't learn from maps or other creatures how far it was. She knew only that she had to pick her master up at school at four o'clock. She knew what time it was and she knew what direction to go, because she had instinct - something we don't have and don't really understand. She knew when she got hungry, but for her, food was something a human put in front of her every day at a set time; she has to learn somehow to find it for herself. To put yourself into the mind-set of a very different kind of creature than you is hard even to imagine, and for someone who has observed collies at close range some of the author's conclusions are not entirely convincing, but nevertheless they hang together beautifully. If instinct had told her everything, perhaps she would have been daunted by the distance and by how long it would take to traverse it. Some things are not the same as I remember. Somehow, what childhood memory has always said was the Duke of Rutland (like Rutland, Vermont) is actually Rudling. Of all the human characters, only one of them is a bad person. The Duke is a kindly old gentleman who adores his granddaughter, Priscilla; he's practically deaf and that's why he shouts at people. He wants well-bred dogs to win ribbons at shows, a harmless hobby for someone of substantial means. Sam Carraclough, the dog's owner's father, is a coal miner who has lost his job as the Great Depression grinds its way through the wealth of ages; he's a man of unshakeable integrity who gives his son a valuable lecture on honesty. Joe, the son, just doesn't understand why his world is suddenly spinning down into chaos so that the family can't afford any frills, and he wants Lassie back partly because she represents the secure world he had before the mine closed. Priscilla sees him tell Lassie to stay at the Duke's kennel and not to run away any more, knowing from his tone of voice that he wants her back desperately, and she sympathizes, which is why she deliberately helps Lassie escape at the start of her adventure. It does not appear that the author recognized that World War I and the Depression had also doomed the Duke and all his kind, and Priscilla might not get to enjoy his estates for long once he'd died. Only Hines, the Duke's kennel master, is a vindictive man who treats Lassie and the Carracloughs with suspicion and resentment. An adult reading this book can also see a subtext not as visible to children. Of the people Lassie meets in her odyssey, some of them are unsavory but some of them are good enough that she is tempted to stay with them. The pottery pedlar and the elderly couple who nurse her back to health after she nearly dies of the challenges of the journey, particularly, are people she could easily just adopt as her own. I doubt if a real dog could have been so profoundly attached to her previous owner that she could resist this temptation. But, Lassie, like Sam Carraclough, is a straight arrow with boundless loyalty and a will of adamant. As soon as she realizes her human friends aren't taking her closer to home, she leaves, always going south, crossing rivers and mountains and surmounting all difficulties, until with the last of her strength she staggers into the schoolyard at exactly 4 PM to meet Joe. Lassie Come-Home was first published in 1938 as a short story, oddly enough, in the US, then in 1940 in its present form. By that time the Depression was over and World War II had broken out. I guess the British public needed a canine heroine more than ever. The book's British origin is a little more problematic in my old age than it was in childhood. Because it is set in a (probably fictional) Yorkshire village, Greenall Bridge, the author has the characters sometimes speak in the local dialect. For many Americans, a Yorkshire dialect is completely unfamiliar and the spelling of the words that differ from standard English barely gives a hint of what the accent sounded like. A Scottish brogue would at least have been recognizable, while even Hines's London Cockney dialect doesn't really seem authentic. I don't recall even wondering about this in childhood, but perhaps Mr. Knight was a Yorkshireman himself and not so familiar with other British accents. However, all that is unimportant. This book is about bravery and endurance, and the love the drives the whole. Its triumphant ending will clean out your tear ducts. While it's suitable for children, I would be careful about letting them read it or you too could end up a collie owner. While they are quite good pets considering their size, easily trained and not requiring as much exercise as many dogs, they do shed. A lot. In three colors. They need frequent grooming but they still shed. I know because I've been there and done that. The book has excellent, traditional production quality with large, easily read type. Chapters have titles and there are helpful black and white illustrations. Yet it is rather inexpensive, even for a paperback. I recommend it without reservations.

I read this wonderful book as a child and it was one of my favorites. I loved it then and it was a joy to read again so many decades later. In places the story still brought tears to my eyes, despite already knowing it has a happy ending. The illustrations are beautiful. I wonder if this classic is available in the school libraries of today? I certainly hope so. We need books like this one which contain themes such as love, loss, hope, joy, family, perseverance, endurance, humility - and especially honesty and honor. I will send copies of this book to my grandchildren, nieces and nephews. I hope they too will read and enjoy the story as much as I did. Happy reading! 📚

I bought this book for an eleven year old girl and she loved it.

I've known Lassie for years, but only a bit of things. Like, I know Lassie is a collie, but I didn't know any episode. So, I tried the book. Lassie is such loyal dog to her master the Carracloughs, and I am glad she means her home as their care.

I wanted to read this with my son and couldn’t find my childhood copy. This version reminds me of my old book, with descriptive pictures and nicely spaced text. As for the contents, the book speaks for itself: a wonderful story, with lots of possibilities for educational discussion with kids, including emotions, courage and differing views on nature vs. nurture (I don’t remember noticing the author’s obsession with “pure bred” dogs when I was a kid!) A great read and a nice paperback edition.

I imagine heinz as a ketchup bottle. It is a good book. i love lassie. And im happy that the ketchup bottle got fired

I read this book about 70 years ago, and I thought then that it was a good story. I’ve just read it again, and enjoyed it even more!

This is my second copy of this book; I love the artwork that much! I'll put it aside for that 'special' child as a gift. If you're planning to read this to a young child as a bedtime story, give yourself plenty of time or read in two parts. It's long - it takes about one hour to read this book aloud. You will run the entire emotional roller coaster as Lassie makes her back to the people she loves - such a looong journey with many perils. As a child, I got so emotionally invested in Lassie the TV show. If she was limping, I was crying. My mother caught on to my suffering and would send me to the basement to retrieve the clothes from the dryer. By the time I returned Lassie would be out of danger/nursed back to health/found by Timmy, etc. Our family always had a dog but never a collie. As times changed, the later dogs became indoor dogs. There's one beside me right now. I firmly believe that stories like this teach children empathy and compassion. This world could use more of both.

Lieblingsbuch der Kindheit

わりと素直な英文で書かれてあるのですが、自然の情景や動物の生態などを現した文章などは 大学レベルくらいの英語力が必要かなと思われる部分もあります。ラッシーの飼い主であるジョー少年の親子がラッシーの手入れをするところや、ラッシーの美しさを表現した部分など、実際に犬を飼ったことがあるか、犬に詳しい方でないと分からない専門用語に遭遇します。ただ、人間が主体となっている部分や会話は読みやすいです。会話がヨークシャー訛りですが、イギリス英語に詳しい方に教えてもらったところ、言うまでもなくヨークシャー訛りには古代英語、ノルド語、スコットランド語の影響が強いので、スタンダードな英語に慣れている方には古風に感じるとのことです。たしかに、ヨークシャー独特の単語が出てきて、辞書にも出ていないことがありますが、スマホやiphoneの英語辞書などでスタンダードでの単語が調べられたりします。そういう方言で書かれてあるだけに、ヨークシャーやスコットランドの郷土の味わいをじっくりと楽しむことができます。ラッシーが遠いスコットランドから飼い主であるジョー少年の家にたどり着くまでに、軍人上がりの羊飼い、野犬狩り、ラッシーに食事を恵んでくれるおかみさん、行倒れになっているラッシーを介抱する優しい老夫婦、行商人のローリーなど、実に様々な人たちとめぐり合いますが、そうした人たちの人間模様やラッシーの活躍ぶりも実に読み応えがあります。本物の「名犬ラッシー」を知りたい方にはぜひお勧めです。学校では習わなかった会話における言い回しも興味深く、感動的でした。

Loved every minute of this book. If you like Jack London’s this is an easier but wonderful read.

The book is excellent as well as the story of Lassie. I also got interested about its author Eric Knight.

I read this knowing that it was made into a few films and realised that this was similar to "The Incredible Journey" only different. Lassie is a collie who meets her friend, a boy, everyday at the gate after school but one day when the family gets skint she has to be sold to the duke of Yorkshire. Now Lassie is not flexible with change so she continues to escape back home which results in the duke taking her with him to his new home in Scotland and this is when it gets more like "The Incredible Journey" because dispite her being so far from England she makes an almost impossible journey back home and encounters many obstacles along the way. Unfortunately the people who made the movies Americanized them which is very bad because this story is based in United Kingdom - Tipical Americans! The story of Lassie Come-Home is unforgetable though and is a recomending read for all people who enjoy a good and happy story so give it a shot and you will not regret it.