The Incredible Journey
Registered by 
GoryDetails
of Nashua, New Hampshire USA on 4/15/2012
This Book is Currently in the Wild!
GoryDetails of Nashua, New Hampshire USA on 4/15/2012 This Book is Currently in the Wild!
4 journalers for this copy...
I got this fair-condition paperback from the Used Book Superstore, as it's one of my favorite childhood books and I can always use another release copy!
One of my favorite animal stories, "The Incredible Journey" still grabs me. It's sweet and funny, and dramatic in all the right places - and to this day I can bring tears to my eyes just by thinking about the final few paragraphs. [Good tears, I hasten to add...] It opens with an excerpt from Walt Whitman's "Song of Myself", the bit about "I think I could turn and live with animals, they are so placid and self-contained..." And this edition has a little note at the end of the text saying "if you enjoyed it or if you were moved by it, may we suggest that you share your experience and recommend it to a friend", so by BookCrossing it I can one-up their suggestion!
Those who are only familiar with the story via Homeward Bound, the talking-animals movie from 1993, are missing a lot. Oh, I enjoyed the film well enough, but by anthropomorphizing the animals so much it changed the whole tone of the story. In the book, the animals do not "talk". Their behavior is always well within the bounds of what animals could do [though the story does start out assuming that they are a more closely-knit trio than most groups of pets]; even their most unnerving adventures are believable, and if there's a coincidence or two along the way to help them out of difficulties, well, those things happen {wry grin}.
One of the reasons I found the book so touching was that it did make the animals so realistic: the young dog's loyalty to his first master, his pained confusion at their separation [the three animals have been boarded with a friend of the family for nine months while the family is overseas], his sudden urge to go back to his home, and his sense of responsibility that requires he take the others with him; the old dog's wicked sense of humor, love of comfort, but unquestioning submission to the young dog's leadership [no doubt who's the alpha-critter in this pack]; and the cat's cool and exquisitely Siamese-cat-like behavior, in which he follows the others without hesitation but manages to convey that it's all his own idea at every step.
An interesting touch: while the animals have names, only the human characters use them; the narrator, when describing the animals on their lonely trek, refers to them by description only, as they might perceive each other: "the old dog/the terrier", "the young dog/the retriever", "the cat". Their interactions with a curious bear cub, a benign but mad old hermit, a tribe of Ojibway, a porcupine, a henhouse... all play out in a manner both charming and believable. I really love this book!
[I also enjoyed the 1963 film, which was quite faithful to the book.]
One of my favorite animal stories, "The Incredible Journey" still grabs me. It's sweet and funny, and dramatic in all the right places - and to this day I can bring tears to my eyes just by thinking about the final few paragraphs. [Good tears, I hasten to add...] It opens with an excerpt from Walt Whitman's "Song of Myself", the bit about "I think I could turn and live with animals, they are so placid and self-contained..." And this edition has a little note at the end of the text saying "if you enjoyed it or if you were moved by it, may we suggest that you share your experience and recommend it to a friend", so by BookCrossing it I can one-up their suggestion!
Those who are only familiar with the story via Homeward Bound, the talking-animals movie from 1993, are missing a lot. Oh, I enjoyed the film well enough, but by anthropomorphizing the animals so much it changed the whole tone of the story. In the book, the animals do not "talk". Their behavior is always well within the bounds of what animals could do [though the story does start out assuming that they are a more closely-knit trio than most groups of pets]; even their most unnerving adventures are believable, and if there's a coincidence or two along the way to help them out of difficulties, well, those things happen {wry grin}.
One of the reasons I found the book so touching was that it did make the animals so realistic: the young dog's loyalty to his first master, his pained confusion at their separation [the three animals have been boarded with a friend of the family for nine months while the family is overseas], his sudden urge to go back to his home, and his sense of responsibility that requires he take the others with him; the old dog's wicked sense of humor, love of comfort, but unquestioning submission to the young dog's leadership [no doubt who's the alpha-critter in this pack]; and the cat's cool and exquisitely Siamese-cat-like behavior, in which he follows the others without hesitation but manages to convey that it's all his own idea at every step.
An interesting touch: while the animals have names, only the human characters use them; the narrator, when describing the animals on their lonely trek, refers to them by description only, as they might perceive each other: "the old dog/the terrier", "the young dog/the retriever", "the cat". Their interactions with a curious bear cub, a benign but mad old hermit, a tribe of Ojibway, a porcupine, a henhouse... all play out in a manner both charming and believable. I really love this book!
[I also enjoyed the 1963 film, which was quite faithful to the book.]
This book's going into my Based on the Book bookbox, with this book serving as the bookbox journal. The box will be on the way to the first participant soon. Enjoy!
Part of the "Based on the Book" bookbox. Read this many years ago in middle school and really enjoyed it.
To be released as part of the "Based on the Book" bookbox. Sending it off!
I've never read this book, but I remember watching the Disney film over and over again as a child and LOVING IT. Then as an adult, I attempted to watch it and found the movie to be AWFUL. I guess I grew up, and that's a little depressing.
--
This book enjoyed a brief stop in San Jose, CA before continuing its travels in the based on the Book bookbox!
--
This book enjoyed a brief stop in San Jose, CA before continuing its travels in the based on the Book bookbox!
Taken from GoryDetails's Based on the Book box with thanks. Not sure I ever read this one, and I'm pretty sure I missed the movie, so I'll give it a whirl.
It is an amazing journey...but the author makes it plausible. The determination of the animals and their loyalty to each other are impressive, and thank goodness for the payoff; that's the difference between heart-warming and heart-breaking.
I also enjoyed the Carl Burger illustrations.
I also enjoyed the Carl Burger illustrations.
Journal Entry 8 by hyphen8 at Maile Tower Condo in Honolulu, Hawaii USA on Monday, November 26, 2012
hyphen8 at Maile Tower Condo in Honolulu, Hawaii USA on Monday, November 26, 2012
Released 11 yrs ago (11/26/2012 UTC) at Maile Tower Condo in Honolulu, Hawaii USA
WILD RELEASE NOTES:
Left on the bench in the elevator for RockDg9's The The challenge.
This book was set free to find a new reader; I'm so glad you've found it!
This is now your book and you may do whatever you like with it, but I'm hoping you will read and enjoy it. You're welcome to keep it for as long as you wish, and you can even mark it for your "permanent collection" if you'd like...but you don't have to.
In fact, there are no requirements: it's really a free book - no strings. On the other hand, if you do make a journal entry to let the book's previous readers know that it's safely in your hands (anonymously if you wish), that would be super. :D
If you're new to BookCrossing, I hope you will take some time to explore this wonderful free and anonymous community of book lovers and learn about what it has to offer. If you decide to sign up, you may use me (hyphen8) as your referring member if you like.
When you're done with the book, please do feel free to make a journal entry saying what you thought of it or what you plan to do with it next. If you decide to pass it this book to another reader or leave it for someone else to find, joining BookCrossing will allow you to follow the book's future travels whenever another reader makes a journal entry...who knows where it will turn up next?
BookCrossing: making the whole world a library!
This book was set free to find a new reader; I'm so glad you've found it!
This is now your book and you may do whatever you like with it, but I'm hoping you will read and enjoy it. You're welcome to keep it for as long as you wish, and you can even mark it for your "permanent collection" if you'd like...but you don't have to.
In fact, there are no requirements: it's really a free book - no strings. On the other hand, if you do make a journal entry to let the book's previous readers know that it's safely in your hands (anonymously if you wish), that would be super. :D
If you're new to BookCrossing, I hope you will take some time to explore this wonderful free and anonymous community of book lovers and learn about what it has to offer. If you decide to sign up, you may use me (hyphen8) as your referring member if you like.
When you're done with the book, please do feel free to make a journal entry saying what you thought of it or what you plan to do with it next. If you decide to pass it this book to another reader or leave it for someone else to find, joining BookCrossing will allow you to follow the book's future travels whenever another reader makes a journal entry...who knows where it will turn up next?
BookCrossing: making the whole world a library!
