Old Yeller: A Loyal Dog

By Tux

The title of the book that I read was OLD YELLER by Fred Gipson. It happened during the time of the cowboys. In late 1800’s after Civil War, it took place in Texas at the time when Travis' father had to go and make money for the family. He made Travis in charge of the family.

The character in this story is Travis a 14 year old boy who acted like his father and a bit rough to Arliss, his younger bratty brother. Travis lives with his Mom who sure is good in cooking. Another character was a dog that saved the family’s life, Old Yeller, a dog who knows to handle about everything like cows, hogs, especially bears.

The story began when the father of Travis told him that he will be taking charge of the family while he is gone from home for a long time. Travis took care of the family, just like how his father did it and he even acted like his own father. Then, Travis ended up finding a dog eating the family’s meat. Day after day, Travis is starting to find out that the dog could be a good use for the family. They called the dog, Old Yeller. Most of the time, Travis did not like the dog because he hates his behavior and the dog would yell all the time like as if someone was going to kill him. Then Arliss would come to save the day and throw rocks at Travis.

I think the best part of the story was when Travis was saved by Old Yeller from a bear and Yeller was now part of the family. The saddest part of the story was when Old Yeller was bitten by a hydrophobia infected wolf that Travis had to shoot him. But he was sad because Old Yeller was his most favorite dog. Travis would never forget him.

The book showed love and care to something that was of great use to them. I think the book is GREAT because it shows how to be responsible and that making tough decisions in life can make you a grown man.

A Medieval Tale

By Tux

The title of the book is “The Whipping Boy." The author is Sid Fleischman. The story took place in a castle during the medieval ages. The characters in the story are Prince Horace, A.K.A Prince Brat, and Jemmy. Jemmy is a talented kid but he has a bad job as a whipping boy while Prince Brat is obviously a BRAT.

The story started when Prince Brat did a horrible mess but the king called the Whipping Boy and gave him lashes to his back. Meanwhile, Prince Brat can’t get hurt because he is a prince! The problem began when Prince Brat ran away from home because he was bored, taking Jemmy with him. Suddenly, highwaymen caught them and took them as hostages. The problem was solved when the highwaymen ran away because rats were biting and scratching them. They ran very fast and ended up in a boat heading to prison. In the end Jemmy and the Prince became good friends. The king said to them, “If you run away again, make me come with you."


I think the story is fantastic and amazing. My favorite part in the story is the part when the highwaymen found the Prince and Jemmy in the hot potato man’s cart. They thought that the Prince is Jemmy and Prince Brat was the Whipping Boy. Prince Brat was then tortured by lashes (whip hitting his back). I think the author is an imaginable man with good sense of adventure and suspense. The most valuable lesson I learned from the story is never ever be a BRAT and don’t let everyone do your work or you will suffer the consequences. BWAHAHAHA! GAW!!!

Tux is fond of reading stories about princes, adventures, and magical powers. His favorite snack is nachos with cheese dip.

Photo courtesy of T. Leslee