Set in the exciting North American frontier this tale of a rescued dog and its loyalty and help to its new master really underlines the old saying that a dog is a man’s best friend. The book really is a story of adventure in the early Western prairies not just about the dog. It is more what it was like to hunt a buffalo and live at a time when the Indians presented a problem and also how the early settlers dealt with them. It touches on things that were new to the people at the time Ballantyne wrote it. Crusoe was won by a young lad in a shooting contest as well as a rifle. And as the boy and dog grew and rode out to see the grand prairie for the very first time we meet the different animals and great country and the reader gets to share the excitement of adventure. – Summary by phil chenevert and wikipedia     [chương_files]  

Jarwin is an English sailor who has been shipwrecked. He is stranded on a raft with only his dog Cuffy, and land is nowhere in sight. Their food and water is running out. What can Jarwin do to save his dog’s (and his own) life? Summary by Esther ben Simonides     [chương_files]  

This story is set in the gold fields of Oregon, where Tom Brixton, and his best friend, Fred Westly, are digging gold to try to “make their pile”. Before leaving England, the steady and God-fearing Fred had promised Tom’s mother that he would do his best to take care of his friend, but in spite of all his efforts, Tom had fallen in with bad companions and taken to gambling. He was convinced that he could make his fortune quicker by attempting to increase it at the dice or card table, and all his friend’s attempts to make him see his errors were unavailing. Finally, after being cheated out of all he owned, he stole the money back from the camp bully, Gashford, who had taken it from him, and had to flee for his life from the camp, before “Judge Lynch” could catch up to him. After being captured by the irate miners, and released by another friend, he managed to almost escape, but was caught again, this time near the cabin inhabited by an older prospector and his daughter, whom Tom loved with his whole heart. There was a difficulty though in his way- Betty, (otherwise known as the “Rose of Oregon”) was a devout Christian, and would never give her heart to one who wasn’t. She did give him some excellent advice though, at a time when he most needed it. After being captured the second time, and confined in the mining camp, Tom gives up all […]