''Old Yeller'' is a 1956

children's novel Children's literature or juvenile literature includes stories, books, magazines, and poems that are created for children. In addition to conventional literary genres, modern children's literature is classified by the intended age of the reade ...

written by Fred Gipson and illustrated by Carl Burger. It received a Newbery Honor in 1957. In 1957,

Walt Disney Walter Elias Disney ( ; December 5, 1901December 15, 1966) was an American animator, film producer, voice actor, and entrepreneur. A pioneer of the Golden age of American animation, American animation industry, he introduced several develop ...

released a

film adaptation A film adaptation transfers the details or story of an existing source text, such as a novel, into a feature film. This transfer can involve adapting most details of the source text closely, including characters or plot points, or the original sou ...

starring Tommy Kirk, Fess Parker, Dorothy McGuire, Kevin Corcoran, Jeff York, Chuck Connors, and Beverly Washburn.

Plot

In the late 1860's, Travis Coates works to take care of his family ranch in the fictional town of Salt Licks,

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

, with his mother and younger brother Arliss, while his father goes off to work on a cattle drive in Kansas, when a "dingy yellow" dog appears to the family and Travis reluctantly takes it in; naming him Old Yeller. The name has a double meaning: the fur color yellow pronounced as "yeller", and the fact that its bark sounds more like a human yell. Travis initially loathes the "rascal" and at first tries to get rid of it, but the dog eventually proves his worth, saving the family on several occasions: rescuing Arliss from a bear, Travis from a bunch of wild hogs, and Mama and their friend Lisbeth from a wolf. Travis grows to love Old Yeller, and they become great friends. Soon, the rightful owner of Yeller shows up looking for his dog. He recognizes that the family has become attached to Yeller, so he trades the dog to Arliss for a horned toad and a home-cooked meal prepared by Travis' mother. Suddenly, a rabid wolf attacks Travis' family, and when Old Yeller fights the wolf, he is bitten badly, and contracts rabies. Travis cannot risk Old Yeller becoming rabid and turning on the family, so he decides to shoot Old Yeller. After his death, Travis discovers that Old Yeller has had puppies, and one helps Travis get over Old Yeller's tragic death. He and his family take in the new dog and make a fresh start, naming the pup "Young Yeller".

Breed

Old Yeller in the novel is described as being a "yellow cur".: "But most important there was Old Yeller, a big ugly yellow cur". It has been claimed that the dog was actually modeled after the Yellow or Southern Black Mouth Cur or a Blue Lacy, the state dog of Texas. In the Disney film adaptation Yeller was portrayed by a yellow

Labrador Retriever The Labrador Retriever or simply Labrador or Lab is a British list of dog breeds, breed of water dog retriever gun dog. It was developed in the United Kingdom from St. John's water dogs imported from the Newfoundland Colony, colony of Newfoun ...

Mastiff A mastiff is a large and powerful Dog type, type of dog. Mastiffs are among the largest dogs, and typically have a short Coat (dog), coat, a long low-set tail and large feet; the skull is large and bulky, the muzzle broad and short (brachycephal ...

mix.

Other books in the series

The new puppy becomes the title character of the follow-up book '' Savage Sam'' (1962) and 1963 film adaptation. A third book, '' Little Arliss'' (1978), is set after the first two and features Travis' younger brother.

Awards and honors

* 1957 Newbery Honor * 1959 William Allen White Children's Book Award * 1959 Young Reader's Choice Award * 1959 Sequoyah Book Award, Children's category (inaugural winner) * 1966 Nēnē Award

References

{{Portal, Texas, 1950s, Children's literature 1956 American novels 1956 children's books American children's novels Novels set in Texas Novels set in the 1860s Novels set on farms Children's novels about dogs Rabies in popular culture American novels adapted into films Children's books adapted into films Newbery Honor–winning works * Harper & Brothers books