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The Call of the Wild
The world's best-loved children's stories set in large type for easy reading.
-- Over 100 illustrations in each book
-- Over 100 illustrations in each book
240 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1979
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 77 reviews
February 4, 2018
This book is featured on Shabby Sunday @ https://readrantrockandroll.com/2018/...
The Call of the Wild is about a dog named Buck who's living at his home in California with his owner when he is kidnapped and shipped to the Klondike to be used as a sled dog. There he endures danger, including abuse, as he's sold multiple times. He eventually learns to respect his captors as he experiences adventure while at the same time he must have the endurance to survive.
To me, this book is enthralling and a real page turner. I had to learn of Buck's fate and experienced multiple emotions throughout his journey. There's violence, heartache, and it's difficult to not sympathize with Buck with all that he's having to endure. It's actually quite easy to relate to Buck as much of what he experiences can be compared to what we as humans experience in our own lives. It also draws attention to the bond between man and dog, and for that, this has to be one of my most cherished dog stories.The descriptions of the scenery make the story feel so realistic to me and I think the book is beautifully written.
My edition is a hardcover illustrated classic from 1989. It's in fairly decent shape. What I love about these illustrated classics is the large print and black and white illustrations throughout to break up the text a bit. This is a great edition for kids who are are new to chapter books. The Call of the Wild is a book for all ages, but some parents might be reluctant to let their children read it because of some of the violent events in the book.
5*****
The Call of the Wild is about a dog named Buck who's living at his home in California with his owner when he is kidnapped and shipped to the Klondike to be used as a sled dog. There he endures danger, including abuse, as he's sold multiple times. He eventually learns to respect his captors as he experiences adventure while at the same time he must have the endurance to survive.
To me, this book is enthralling and a real page turner. I had to learn of Buck's fate and experienced multiple emotions throughout his journey. There's violence, heartache, and it's difficult to not sympathize with Buck with all that he's having to endure. It's actually quite easy to relate to Buck as much of what he experiences can be compared to what we as humans experience in our own lives. It also draws attention to the bond between man and dog, and for that, this has to be one of my most cherished dog stories.The descriptions of the scenery make the story feel so realistic to me and I think the book is beautifully written.
My edition is a hardcover illustrated classic from 1989. It's in fairly decent shape. What I love about these illustrated classics is the large print and black and white illustrations throughout to break up the text a bit. This is a great edition for kids who are are new to chapter books. The Call of the Wild is a book for all ages, but some parents might be reluctant to let their children read it because of some of the violent events in the book.
5*****
January 24, 2021
3,5 stars.
My first classic! I really like this edition that has black and white drawings every other page, it made it feel like I read a book and the graphic novel at once!
I'm gonna be checking out Jack London's other work when the library opens up again! (Corona, please leave us alone)
My first classic! I really like this edition that has black and white drawings every other page, it made it feel like I read a book and the graphic novel at once!
I'm gonna be checking out Jack London's other work when the library opens up again! (Corona, please leave us alone)
March 22, 2017
Not exactly a kid-friendly story. It had its moments, but, overall, I found this one to be a dud.
March 3, 2023
A childhood classic and the epitome of short and sweet...minus the throat-slashing and manipulation. What does it say that this is my dad's favorite book?
August 7, 2025
I read this illustrated version of Jack London's classic countless times as a kid, so it was fun to finally share that with my daughters. They hung on every word, saddened when Buck was injured or mistreated, upset whenever another dog died, and excited when he finally got to heed the call of the wild and join his wild brothers (the wolf pack). It can be a bit brutal in moments, but my six- and eight-year-olds handled it fine and learned important lessons.
October 25, 2023
Read this when I was about 8, now rereading it with my kidd. Holds the story together while using language appropriate for little readers to read it themselves as well. Fun to revisit it :)
September 2, 2023
Uh. Didn't expect to finish this one so soon.
(The adventures of an unusual dog, part St. Bernard, part Scotch shepherd, that is forcibly taken to the Klondike gold fields where he eventually becomes the leader of a wolf pack.) ~ Blurb from Goodreads
The big thing to keep in mind about this version (and something that I didn't realize right away) is that it is not the original story. Instead, it is an adaptation designed for younger readers.
With that said, I was surprised to find just how faithful and respectful of an adaptation it was. I think the details from the original are still in-tact, but written in a way that younger readers can digest it while maintaining this air of respect for their intelligence. Heck, they even keep the darker and more violent moments in-tact. For example, in chapter Holy crap! If that wasn't enough,
I found Buck to be rather interesting. Despite having so much crap being thrown at him and never catching a real break in the North, Buck never gives up and does whatever he can to adapt and survive in this harsh environment, even if it means doing things like stealing food from one of his masters and killing.
Despite the writing style being much different than the original story, it still really worked. In addition to making things easier for younger readers while still respecting their intelligence, it really did a great job keeping things moving and delivering this consistent intensity, especially during the action scenes. In other words, this writing style is a wonderful match for a story like this.
I'm split on the illustrations. On the one hand, the style does seem like it could fit into a much older version of the story. But on the other hand, all of the dogs look way too similar to one another and had there not been captions for each illustration, I would have no idea which dog was which.
Overall, Great Illustrated Classics' The Call of The Wild was a fantastic adaptation that I respect the heck out of and I wouldn't be too surprised if I decided to re-read it a few times more.
Overall Grade: A-
(The adventures of an unusual dog, part St. Bernard, part Scotch shepherd, that is forcibly taken to the Klondike gold fields where he eventually becomes the leader of a wolf pack.) ~ Blurb from Goodreads
The big thing to keep in mind about this version (and something that I didn't realize right away) is that it is not the original story. Instead, it is an adaptation designed for younger readers.
With that said, I was surprised to find just how faithful and respectful of an adaptation it was. I think the details from the original are still in-tact, but written in a way that younger readers can digest it while maintaining this air of respect for their intelligence. Heck, they even keep the darker and more violent moments in-tact. For example, in chapter Holy crap! If that wasn't enough,
I found Buck to be rather interesting. Despite having so much crap being thrown at him and never catching a real break in the North, Buck never gives up and does whatever he can to adapt and survive in this harsh environment, even if it means doing things like stealing food from one of his masters and killing.
Despite the writing style being much different than the original story, it still really worked. In addition to making things easier for younger readers while still respecting their intelligence, it really did a great job keeping things moving and delivering this consistent intensity, especially during the action scenes. In other words, this writing style is a wonderful match for a story like this.
I'm split on the illustrations. On the one hand, the style does seem like it could fit into a much older version of the story. But on the other hand, all of the dogs look way too similar to one another and had there not been captions for each illustration, I would have no idea which dog was which.
Overall, Great Illustrated Classics' The Call of The Wild was a fantastic adaptation that I respect the heck out of and I wouldn't be too surprised if I decided to re-read it a few times more.
Overall Grade: A-
October 2, 2014
The Call of the Wild is a good book if you love action/adventure and mystery type books. I loved because it was about a dog and it left me thinking about it and I didn't want to stop reading it. I really enjoyed this book also because there were really happy parts and also tragic parts and I always love a good mystery. This book is about a dog who is kidnapped and taken up north to become a sled dog. He faces challenges and is trained by a master he soon loves. He must learn new skills in order to survive. I loved this book and mystery-lovers will too.
August 14, 2020
This was me cheating in a 10 year olds book club. I didn't read the book, but the kids did. In order to direct them, I quickly read this version so I could keep up. Ha. I wasn't required to read the book, but I wanted to be some kind of source for the kids. I'm glad I read it bc there definitly needed to be some explanations of the real version. The general concusses of the book was that it was "ok."
My opinion on this particular version was that it had a lot of cruelty and was depressing to read. That's just the story itself though. I would not recommend this book to a young animal lover like my 8 year old.
My opinion on this particular version was that it had a lot of cruelty and was depressing to read. That's just the story itself though. I would not recommend this book to a young animal lover like my 8 year old.
September 8, 2018
An excellent adaptation for young readers. This is still the Alaskan Frontier, so there are instances of death and violence. Parents or grandparents definitely need to review it first before buying or reading it to very young kids.
That said, this version of Buck is still the noble animal we know from London's original. There are moments that will break your heart and then cheer for him, especially when he breaks the sled free to win what seemed an impossible wager.
Find it! Buy it! Read it!
That said, this version of Buck is still the noble animal we know from London's original. There are moments that will break your heart and then cheer for him, especially when he breaks the sled free to win what seemed an impossible wager.
Find it! Buy it! Read it!
August 5, 2020
Even unabridged, "The Call of The Wild" has never been a favorite book of mine. Stories, unless written for a younger audience, from the animal's perspective have a hard time holding my interest. I guess that I need the human touch to really relate, which is kind of callous, but regardless of how you look at it, a story written about an animal is always from the human perspective because animals can't write. I read this with Arely and it didn't seem to be a favorite for her either. Although, I must say that Buck had a rough life!
September 30, 2021
I LOVE BUCK!!!!!!!!! My first novel :) a classic! It brings back sooooooo many fond memories 😁Oh my gosh I just love this book!! 💕 One of the best scenes is( to me) when Buck joins the call. I cried so many times during this book I’m crying right lol. I just love this book💕💕💕. Can’t wait to watch the movie that’s coming out ;). Or did it already come out? Oh well amazing book easy to read great for starters definitely something I’d suggest. Okay last time I mention my love for this book.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 11, 2022
This is such a cute book, it’s a very easy read and it felt so readable and exciting. It’s not what i thought this would’ve been about, it was surprisingly well done. This is a book you can skip when it comes to the classics though it doesn’t hold the same meaningful tone as the others. Overall super cute!
April 8, 2023
My boys (5&7) loved this-perfect for their wild + free hearts! There is quite a bit of violence between humans and dogs / dogs and dogs, but in my mind it just helped to paint a realistic picture of what life was like in the Yukon more than a hundred years ago. This adaptation had a picture on each page which I know helped to keep my younger one engaged.
July 14, 2023
Oh how many times I read this book growing up! Over and over. I actually did not like dogs at all, so it is quite surprising that I fell in love with Buck and his story. The layers of personalities and happenings were fascinating. I loved and hated the human characters. Buck persevered and this story is one all should read. It left much impression on me.
June 6, 2024
This book is an amazing book and is the best animal book imo. This book is a great choice for people who like suspense and adventure.
- Ruben Gutierrez
- Ruben Gutierrez
March 13, 2025
This was a book I loved reading as a kid. Now, it still was a fun read but I think an non-illustrated version would be better for me. Good to relive part of growing up by reading this one. Buck is a good dog who I still root for.
January 19, 2018
Students liked it.
February 13, 2020
I love this book. So very well written. He humanizes the dogs with his writing.
May 2, 2020
So I had this version from my grandpa who passed away, I wish I read the full version not this one but it was important to read this one from my grandpa and still pretty special!
July 24, 2020
This was a great book. Thanks for writing it.
August 13, 2021
First novel I ever read. A classic.
July 8, 2022
I loved this one but I warn my students that it is sad.
July 28, 2022
Why'd London have to make Buck anti-Native at the end tho
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 8, 2022
Read this mini book as a child!
February 17, 2023
Loved it, I was obsessed with this book for years.
March 21, 2023
5 stars each from my seven year old and I, and he wants to give it 10. By far our favorite adaptation in this series.
September 11, 2023
Great Illustrated Classics are the best! Read this to 5 year old, he loved it! I have never actually read the real Call of the Wild 😬 so a good intro for me too!
November 3, 2023
Great book.
July 22, 2024
Over all good storyline. Liked the interior illustrations.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 77 reviews