The Call of the Wild (Classic Starts Series)

by Jack London, Oliver Ho (Abridged by), Lucy Corvino (Illustrator), Arthur Pober (Afterword)

Overview

Classic Starts. The stories are abridged; the quality is complete.

Here is the ultimate dog story, one filled with emotion, adventure, and excitement. During the Gold Rush, Buck is snatched away from his peaceful home and brought to the harsh and bitter Yukon to become a sled dog. Will he adapt, and learn to trust men? Or will his newly awakened primitive instincts lead him to search for the freedom he has never known?

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781402786860
Publisher:	Union Square Kids
Publication date:	12/07/2010
Series:	Classic Starts® Series
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	160
File size:	646 KB
Age Range:	7 - 9 Years

About the Author

One of the pioneers of 20th century American literature, Jack London specialized in tales of adventure inspired by his own experiences. London was born in San Francisco in 1876. At 14, he quit school and became an "oyster pirate," robbing oyster beds to sell his booty to the bars and restaurants in Oakland. Later, he turned on his pirate associates and joined the local Fish Patrol, resulting in some hair-raising waterfront battles. Other youthful activities included sailing on a seal-hunting ship, traveling the United States as a railroad tramp, a jail term for vagrancy and a hazardous winter in the Klondike during the 1897 gold rush. Those experiences converted him to socialism, as he educated himself through prolific reading and began to write fiction. After a struggling apprenticeship, London hit literary paydirt by combining memories of his adventures with Darwinian and Spencerian evolutionary theory, the Nietzchean concept of the "superman" and a Kipling-influenced narrative style. "The Son of the Wolf"(1900) was his first popular success, followed by 'The Call of the Wild" (1903), "The Sea-Wolf" (1904) and "White Fang" (1906). He also wrote nonfiction, including reportage of the Russo-Japanese War and Mexican revolution, as well as "The Cruise of the Snark" (1911), an account of an eventful South Pacific sea voyage with his wife, Charmian, and a rather motley crew. London's body broke down prematurely from his rugged lifestyle and hard drinking, and he died of uremic poisoning - possibly helped along by a morphine overdose - at his California ranch in 1916. Though his massive output is uneven, his best works - particularly "The Call of the Wild" and "White Fang" - have endured because of their rich subject matter and vigorous prose.

Editorial Reviews

Narrator Rebecca K. Reynolds flawlessly renders this magnificent story, abridged with children in mind. Buck, a mixed St. Bernard and Scottish shepherd, has an enviable life in Southern California until he is stolen and sold to be a Gold Rush sled dog in the Yukon. Listeners will be mesmerized as they share Buck’s joys, sorrows, and pain as he adjusts to his new life. Reynolds’s delivery of London’s ebullient descriptions of nature, good and bad men, and dogs is riveting and often brings a cheer of delight or tears of sympathy. Most thrilling is a bet regarding Buck’s ability to run with a 1,000-pound load. After Buck outsmarts nasty dogs and men who treat him badly, listeners will find the conclusion gratifying. S.G.B. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2020, Portland, Maine

MAY 2020 - AudioFile