it follows naturally that some one should be inspired to write a book to interpret the life of a dog to the humane feeling of the world. Such a story we have in "Beautiful Joe." The story speaks not for the dog alone, but for the whole animal kingdom. Through it we enter the animal world, and are made to see as animals see, and to feel as animals feel. The sympathetic sight of the author, in this interpretation, is ethically the strong feature of the book. "My name is Beautiful Joe, and I am a brown dog of medium size. I ...
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it follows naturally that some one should be inspired to write a book to interpret the life of a dog to the humane feeling of the world. Such a story we have in "Beautiful Joe." The story speaks not for the dog alone, but for the whole animal kingdom. Through it we enter the animal world, and are made to see as animals see, and to feel as animals feel. The sympathetic sight of the author, in this interpretation, is ethically the strong feature of the book. "My name is Beautiful Joe, and I am a brown dog of medium size. I am not called Beautiful Joe because I am a beauty. Mr. Morris, the clergyman, in whose family I have lived for the last twelve years, says that he thinks I must be called Beautiful Joe for the same reason that his grandfather, down South, called a very ugly colored slave-lad Cupid, and his mother Venus. I do not know what he means by that, but when he says it, people always look at me and smile. I know that I am not beautiful, and I know that I am not a thoroughbred. I am only a cur. When my mistress went every year to register me and pay my tax, and the man in the office asked what breed I was, she said part fox-terrier and part bull-terrier; but he always put me down a cur. I don't think she liked having him call me a cur; still, I have heard her say that she preferred curs, for they have more character than well-bred dogs. Her father said that she liked ugly dogs for the same reason that a nobleman at the court of a certain king did namely, that no one else would. I am an old dog now, and am writing, or rather getting a friend to write, the story of my life. I have seen my mistress laughing and crying over a little book that she says is a story of a horse's life, and sometimes she puts the book down close to my nose to let me see the pictures. I love my dear mistress; I can say no more than that; I love her better than any one else in the world; and I think it will please her if I write the story of a dog's life. She loves dumb animals, and it always grieves her to see them treated cruelly. I have heard her say that if all the boys and girls in the world were to rise up and say that there should be no more cruelty to animals, they could put a stop to it. Perhaps it will help a little if I tell a story. I am fond of boys and girls, and though I have seen many cruel men and women, I have seen few cruel children. I think the more stories there are written about dumb animals, the better it will be for us." - Taken from "Beautiful Joe" written by Marshall Saunders
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A Great Read, You will laugh, You'll cry but lou will absolutely love this book.
Joyce J
Apr 4, 2013
Excellent service
Book was better than described. Arrived in a fast time and packaged very well.
oschar
Jun 10, 2010
times gone by
This is a lovely book full of days gone by when life moved at a slower pace. Love the way it has been written and to be able to share this dogs second chance with such a wonderful family.
appalachiacat
Aug 13, 2009
A Tale of Courage and Heart
On Christmas day, 1961, I received this book as a present. Reading it was a truly life-changing experience. Not only was it the first of many well-loved stories about animals, but it also formally began my love-affair with the animal kingdom.
The story is told by Joe, who lives with his siblings and mother in a ill-kept barn belonging to an abusive and alcoholic character named Jenkins. Jenkins is cruel to all around him, including his beaten down wife, neglected children, viciously used cows and horse as well as his dogs,Joe and Joe's family. There are some decidedly horrific, but realistic portrayals of the kind of abuse that animals go through evey day at the hands of humans like Jenkins and in the end, now all alone, our hero is pushed beyond what he can bear and fights back. Jenkins prevails and maims the dog and leaves Joe to die.
Of course, Joe is rescued and goes to live with the Morrises, a kindly, eccentric and interesting family consisting of a houseful of kids, happy animals and wise adults.The Morris boys give him the name of "Beautiful Joe". And so Beautiful Joe's new life begins.
"Beautiful Joe" is definitely a "Moral Tale", which will always have a place on the world's bookshelves. Kids (and everyone else) enjoy stories where the helpless are rescued and the rescuers win out over the bad guys.
This book has great character development, practical advice on dog training and shows how organization, effort and well-intentioned, intelligent people working together can make things right, even when it seems that the "status quo" and the way people think is too entrenched to be moved. And, by the way, Jenkins does get his comeuppance in a very satisfying way!
ReaderfromMaine
Jul 23, 2009
Animal treatment -----
This story of a dog, so mistreated,
was so heartfelt - I cried ! I had last
read this wonderful book many years
ago, but I plan to read it on a regular
basis from now on.
