Three classic dog tales brought together in a single volume—Fred Gipson’s Old Yeller, its sequel Savage Sam, and William Armstrong’s Sounder . Old Yeller (Winner of the Newbery Honor) When his father sets out on a cattle drive for the summer, fourteen-year-old Travis is left to take care of his mother, younger brother, and the family farm. In the wilderness of early frontier Texas, Travis faces his new and often dangerous responsibilities, with many adventures along the way, all with the help of the big yellow dog who comes to be his best friend. Savage Sam In this sequel to Old Yeller , Travis and his younger brother are kidnapped by an Indian raiding party, and Savage Sam, the son of the beloved yellow dog, leads a frantic chase to bring them back. Sounder (Winner of the John Newbery Medal) Sounder is a loyal family dog, determined to help his owners through thick and thin. This is the story of a great coon dog and the poor sharecroppers who own him, and of the courage and love that bind a black family together in the face of extreme prejudice from the outside world. “The combination of excellent writing and the sensitivity to human emotions places it on a shelf with the classics in juvenile literature.” - Saturday Review of Literature on Old Yeller “Occasionally, but very rarely, one reads a book with the increasing certainty, as one turns the pages, that a classic is unfolding before one’s eyes.” - Chicago Sunday Tribune on Old Yeller “Gipson again has given us a purely wonderful trunk of Americana, and one of those rare books to be enjoyed on many latitudes of brow elevation.” - Chicago Sunday Tribune on Savage Sam “The writing is simple, timeless, and extraordinarily moving. An oustanding book.” - Commonweal on Sounder “The author writes in details that glow alive.” - New York Times Book Review on Sounder “The story of a grim situation, a desperate chase, filled with brutality and heroism, yet he has written it with a sense of young wonder and even, at times, with humor.” - New York Times Book Review on Savage Sam Three classic dog tales brought together in a single volume Old Yeller Winner of the Newbery Honor When his father sets out on a cattle drive for the summer, fourteen-year-old Travis is left to take care of his mother, younger brother, and the family farm. In the wilderness of early frontier Texas, Travis faces his new and often dangerous responsibilities, with many adventures along the way, all with the help of the big yellow dog who comes to be his best friend. Sounder Winner of the John Newbery Medal Sounder is a loyal family dog, determined to help his owners through thick and thin. This is the story of a great coon dog and the poor sharecroppers who own him, and of the courage and love that bind a black family together in the face of extreme prejudice from the outside world. Savage Sam In this sequel to Old Yeller , Travis and his younger brother are kidnapped by an Indian raiding party, and Savage Sam, the son of the beloved yellow dog, leads a frantic chase to bring them back. With Old Yeller, Fred Gipson secured his place as one of the finest novelists in America. The book was published to instant acclaim and has become one of the most beloved children's classics ever written. Since its publication in 1956, Old Yeller has won countless awards, including the 1957 Newbery Honor. Mr. Gipson's other works include both fiction and non-fiction. He grew up in the Texas hill country and died in 1973. William H. Armstrong grew up in Lexington, Virginia. He graduated from Hampden-Sydney College and did graduate work at the University of Virginia. He taught ancient history and study techniques at the Kent School for fifty-two years. Author of more than a dozen books for adults and children, he won the John Newbery Medal for Sounder in 1970 and was awarded an honorary Doctor of Letters degree from Hampden-Sydney College in 1986.