The Incredible Journey

Product Information

Lying awake in the dark that night,unable to sleep, he thought he would have given anything to feel the heavy thud on the bed that used to announce the old dog's arrival. How extremely unloving and intolerant he had felt so often , waking in the middle of the night to the relentless shoving and pushing of his undesirable and selfish bedfellow. From the youngest child…to the oldest grown-up, there is something here for everyone.”— The Horn Book An inquisitive Labrador retriever, friendly bull terrier, and courageous Siamese cat set out through the Canadian wilderness to find their owner in this truly “incredible” adventure.

Epilogue: I had gone to visit a buddy and his family there other week and I took this book for his youngest to read as he was the only one that I had yet to find a good book for. I'd also taken a copy of "Crow Lake" by Mary Lawson for his wife. As soon as my buddy saw this book he instantly recognized the title/cover and said to his son, "You are going to love this! It has a porcupine in it!" - last time he had read this one he was in seventh grade. This is one of my all time favorites that I read as a kid and I was curious to see if it would wield the same emotional power that it did over 30 + years ago. It came into my hands again through a curious set of circumstances.Accidentally abandoned by their minders, three domestic pets embark on a 250+ mile trip across rugged country in northwest Ontario to be reunited with their owners. The animals don’t realise that their owners, the Hunter family, have been absent in England for 9 months. The young Labrador, Luath, has an excellent sense of direction and leads the ‘expedition’. Instinct tells them that the way home lies to the west and together the three house pets face hunger, the natural elements, and wild forest animals as they make their way home to the family they love. I sobbed through my reads of this book (& through my viewings of the Disney movie) It didn't matter how many times I read/watched it & that I knew it Would Be All Right in the End, I'd be there with large, gulping sobs. & I kept my whole family awake until I cried myself to sleep. I was a very soft kid though. I wasn't allowed to watch Lassie as I got so upset! Bodger, the hero, the old bull terrier with a sense of humour. Age was against him, but he was bred to fight and endure. If you are a fan of the 1993 Disney movie called Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey, which is based off this book, then you are not alone. I love that movie and when I first read this book I expected the book to be exactly like the movie. Ah youth ignorance about how movie versions are not the same as the books their based off of. Anyway, I am surprised to say that I actually liked the movie version better and that rarely happens for me.

My precious cat has been away three months. Sheila's details about cats doing well in a forest, bolstered me. Balm to my soul, her emphatic assertions that cats travel unseen and unheard. The reaction of a serviceman, without knowing our boy left voluntarily, was crass. First: don't disrespect anyone who is optimistic about their son. Secondly: we say “F” him. Burnford describes these animals with fondness. They aren't judgmental. They crave your attention and companionship. They can sense when you are feeling lonely. They can even protect you if need be. They also seem to sense that their family extends beyond just the humans, but one another. We see this in the way the animals feed each other and provide warmth at night. It's the cat whose perhaps the most impressive of the bunch. He scares off a full-grown bear, and at another point he must outwit a much more terrifying hunter than himself. The dogs have their own adventures as well, but excel the most when it comes to begging food off of the humans they come across on their journey. And so they continue on their way, continuing to rely on each other for their journey despite their many near-death experiences. Three beloved family pets – a young Labrador, an aged bull terrier, and a Siamese cat – head home across 300 miles of wooded and mostly uninhabited territory in Ontario, Canada. The Incredible Journey (1961), by Scottish author Sheila Burnford, is a children's book first published by Hodder & Stoughton, which tells the story of three pets as they travel 300 miles (480km) through the Canadian wilderness searching for their beloved masters. It depicts the suffering and stress of an arduous journey, together with the unwavering loyalty and courage of the three animals. The story is set in the northwestern part of Ontario, which has many lakes, rivers, and widely dispersed small farms and towns.During this process, I discovered that several of my beloved books had sequels or in some cases multiple further adventures, and then seeing A Wrinkle in Time getting the big-screen treatment reminded me that I'd only ever read the original trilogy, the "other" two books in the Time Quintet having been published after a long pause while I was off looking at other things. So, obviously, I'm on a new booky quest to read all of these books I missed out on as a child, starting with the L'Engles, but this has started my brain tip-tapping down memory lane thinking about other favorite books - worlds and characters I would like to revisit. One of the strengths of the book is the choice by the author not to make it into a fantasy by giving the animals ability to talk; instead Sheila Burnford presents the story by observing and narrating each details of adventure, misery, plight and danger that the animals experience from the journey to the reader lucidly, which makes it seem a realistic tale. urn:lcp:incrediblejourne00shei_1:epub:1e1b58c6-39c3-4bc7-ada1-4f1ce1443625 Foldoutcount 0 Identifier incrediblejourne00shei_1 Identifier-ark ark:/13960/t74t7v38f Isbn 0553058746 This is a Canadian classic and I like to think that the Mary Lawson book I brought along is a new Canadian classic. I'm looking forward to seeing what my buddy's family thinks of them.

A Canadian family in Ontario named Hunter has decided to go on a trip to England so that the patriarch, James, can accept a temporary position. While away, the three beloved pets of the family are left in the care of a close family friend named John Longridge. The pets are Bodger, an aging bull terrier, Bodger's boon companion Tao, a Siamese cat, and the latest addition to the menagerie, Luath, a golden Labrador. Longridge decides to go on a two-day hunting trip by canoe and arrange for his neighbors, the Oakes, to care for the pets while away. Sheila could be fanciful with grating, incongruous things, like calling a “shrill” whistle “sweet”. No, it isn't! The end milked drama. If two pets arrive, you search or wait, because the third is on his way too! You would not give up on Bodger, with miracles in front of you. Lastly, when did this occur? Who was the author to them? Four stars appreciate everything else about this special novel. Have no doubt that I savour hearing about pets coming home. I was reluctant about this, in a bag of books borrowed from Mom. It cheered me up. Written in 1961, this book was pitched at children, but I think it is equally appealing to adults, particular to those who are animal lovers. Bear cub: The Bear cub thought Bodger was a toy and pawed at him with his sharp claws until Tao intervened and tried to protect him.Luath: Luath is a young Labrador Retriever. His fur is golden red, his eyes are brown, and he is strongly built. Of the Hunters' three pets, he is the most recent addition. He is also the most determined to push forward and reach home and the Hunters. Luath usually walks on Bodger's left side. A scene with the kids playing Nintendo when Bob realizes he's been invited to a welcome BBQ on the same day they were supposed to go to Kate's to visit Shadow, Chance, and Sassy. Because I grew up with these pictures I love them, but I hope one day Burford's tale gets the artist it deserves. Burnford based the fictional story on the animals she and her husband owned while living in Canada: a Bull Terrier brought from England; a Siamese cat, whose mutual relationship with the terrier she described as "closer than any other cat-and-dog relationship I had ever seen"; and a young Labrador Retriever, who also developed a close relationship with the older dog. [2] Plot [ edit ]

Third: my mom was recently in town, she'd come out from BC to take a trip with my aunt and uncle out to the east coast, and saw my copy lying in the bathroom. When I brought it up you could see that even though she was happy I had a copy, she was still incredibly PEEVED about the loss of hers. The story is still wonderful, It is so easy to visualize these three characters as I have had the pleasure of dealing individually with all three breeds and Bumford nails their personalities and traits in compelling fashion.

An incredible book! A beautiful story so moving that it stays in the mind constantly. It is a gem to be treasured."— The St. Louis Post-Dispatch