Wild Animals I Have Known
By Ernest Thompson Seton
- Release Date: 1897-12-31
- Genre: Animal Fiction for Young Adults
Description
An Apple Books Classics edition.
“Those who do not know the animals well may think I have humanized them, but those who have lived so near them as to know somewhat of their ways and their minds will not think so.” So says Ernest Thompson Seton at the beginning of a story about Raggylug, a cottontail rabbit. Seton was a naturalist and spent years watching the animals he portrays in his stories. These “histories” are based on actual animals that he observed. It shows. Wild animals, like humans, have rich social lives filled with loyalties and love—and the desire to live. In addition to Raggylug and his mom Molly, you’ll meet and fall in love with Lobo, the wise old alpha wolf at war with ranchers; Silverspot, the savvy crow; Bingo, based on the author’s own dog; A wild mustang, cruelly lured into a trap using the love he has for his mate; The Springfield fox, faced with an impossible choice; Wully, a “yaller” dog, and Redruff, a bespeckled partridge. But with love comes heartbreak, and as readers are warned in the introduction, very few wild animals die of old age.
Published at the turn of the 20th century, this seminal book changed minds about the social lives of wild animals—if not, sadly, America’s methods of managing wild horses, foxes, and even wolves. An important novel for learning compassion, the stories in this forgotten classic will stay with readers long after they finish reading.
Reviews
Intriguing
4By Amanda J. GreenThough simple in plot, I loved these short stories. I especially enjoyed the one of the rabbit.Wild Animals I Have Known
4By BellaOfTheShireStep into the lives of a few wild creatures who lived and died long ago on the Canadian frontier. The narrator approached some of these tales with more compassion than others. Be forewarned that he doesn’t soften the blow of any of the cruelty inflicted by man or nature.Tales of Animals
5By Rocking On!This was an enjoyable read about animals of the forest as well as animals of the farmland and their devotion to their masters and their own brood. The writer tells a vivid picture of their life by much of his observation. We should put down our electronic devices and seek to enjoy more of what nature has to provide :)disgusting reading
1By EmilyyeMgreat book, but the reading is really bad.
