A couple of weeks ago I was organizing some stacks of books and ran across one that brought back some memories.

Old Yeller by Fred Gipson was a book that I read several times when I was a kid. There was also a Disney movie made from Old Yeller, but I don’t think I have ever seen it. I grew up without TV and I have never run across it in adulthood.

It also made me think of my dog Pat, but she was definitely not the same type of dog.

Old Yeller is a great story of a young boy growing up and taking responsibility and learning from life experiences. The story is told from the viewpoint of Travis and includes his little brother Arliss and a young girl Lisbeth.

Abut 12 years ago I read the sequel, Savage Sam, which is about how Travis, Arliss and Lisbeth were kidnapped by Comanche warriors. Savage Sam, the son of Old Yeller, trails them and helps rescue them. This reminded me of one of my ancestors who was captured by Native Americans in 1757 at the Northkill Settlement in Pennsylvania. He and his sons eventually returned home.

After reading Old Yeller again I decided to also read Savage Sam again so requested it at the library. I really enjoyed the book the second time through.

A movie was also made of this book and received very good reviews.

I also decided to read the second sequel, Little Arliss, which was set several years later than Savage Sam. I had to get this book from another library system. The book is narrated this time by Arliss. His older brother Sam and Lisbeth were now married. The story is about how he captures an outlaw horse with the help of a new friend.

The manuscript for this book was found after the death of Gipson and later published. It was also filmed but only shown as a TV special.

Perhaps I will have to see if I can find where to view the movies of these books. However, I had some great pictures in my head as I read the books so maybe not.

Steven