by Fred Gipson
First published 2007
Travis becomes the man of the house at fourteen when his father leaves for a cattle drive. He must protect his mother and younger brother on their Texas frontier farm, where danger lurks in the wilderness. A big yellow dog arrives and becomes his trusted companion through countless adventures. Later, Travis and his brother face kidnapping by raiders, but Savage Sam, the yellow dog's son, leads the rescue effort. The collection also tells of Sounder, a devoted coon dog whose sharecropper family endures hardship and prejudice. These three stories explore the unbreakable bonds between dogs and the families who love them, set against the backdrop of rural America where survival depends on courage and loyalty.
Genres: animals, family-life, american-fiction, 20th-century, adventure
Vibes: emotional, intimate, suspenseful
Tropes: found-family, man-of-the-house
Setting: Texas
Period: 19th-century
403 pages · Paperback · Harper Perennial Modern Classics