The Fast Sooner Hound

by Arna Bontemps, Jack Conroy, Virginia Lee Burton (Illustrator)

tall dog tale spiced with railroad lingo. Though the Sooner Hound would sooner run than eat he couldn"t bear to be parted from his master

Genres: Picture Books, 2nd Grade

32 pages, Library Binding

First published January 1, 1942

About the author

Works of poetry, history, and fiction, such as God Sends Sunday (1931) and Black Thunder (1936), established American writer Arna Wendell Bontemps as a leading figure of the renaissance of Harlem.

People note Arnaud Wendell Bontemps, an African novelist and librarian, as a member.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arna_Bo...

Reviews

[Hank · Rating 4 out of 5]

I noticed the other two reviewers called this book "cute". But I think it should be noted that the author is Arna Bontemps, a black American novelist and poet from the Harlem Renaissance. The book was written after other politically charged novels written for adults, and it seems to me that this book is symbolic of the Civil Rights Movement, how hard people would fought for racial equality, and how foolish its antagonists would look in the end. From the little I've read of Bontemps, it seems that he had given up on reaching adults and turned to hopes for the next generation to be better.

[Michael Fitzgerald · Rating 5 out of 5]

Top notch straightforward tale, a bit in the spirit of Burton's earlier Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel or the story of John Henry. The text is wordy but good, and the illustrations are stunning, with beautiful vibrant colors, especially yellows. The style is very much like Mike Mulligan and the people in the crowds look almost identical.

I see reference to a 1978 revised edition, and I have to wonder what was changed.

[KaitandMaddie · Rating 4 out of 5]

We found this out in the garage and it was discarded by the York Public Library, which is where my nana worked when I was a child. It was fascinating to read as the vocab and sentence structure is notably old-timey.

[Jeani · Rating 2 out of 5]

Too old-timey for me and I was bored.

[Jackie B. - Death by Tsundoku · Rating 3 out of 5]

An adorable story about a railroad man and his hound. They travel from location to location searching for a job. However, dogs aren't around on the railroad cars. This doesn't affect our railroad man, but it bugs the head of the railroad company. Instead of riding along, the Sooner Hound races the trains from station to station. This competition eventually results in a lot of publicity for the railroad, but the head of the company eats his hat thinking the dog wouldn't out run the fastest train.

A cute book, with illustrations by Virginia Lee Burton. It's a cute story, and I recommend this to children who like trains and dogs.

(Also! This is the 100th book I've read in 2015! Yay me!)

[Margaret Chind]

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Excerpts and/or reprints included in Stories And Fables.

[Samantha Brake · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my kids Favorites!

[Marianna · Rating 4 out of 5]

The sooner hound outruns trains on the Oklahoma prairie. Cute story.