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Lassie Come-Home
The bestselling picture-book edition of Eric Knight's classic story is now a chapter book-perfect for children just starting to read on their own.
Lassie is Joe's prize collie and constant companion. When Joe's father loses his job, Lassie must be sold. Three times Lassie escapes from her new master, and three times she returns, until finally she is taken to the remotest part of Scotland-too far a journey for any dog to make alone.
But Lassie is not just any dog. Traveling nearly one thousand miles over punishing terrain, Lassie makes her courageous and painful way home to Joe. They are never separated again.
Lassie Come-Home is a classic, heart-warming tale about the love between a boy and his dog. The acclaimed picture-book edition by Rosemary Wells and Susan Jeffers is now a chapter book perfect for young readers
Lassie is Joe's prize collie and constant companion. When Joe's father loses his job, Lassie must be sold. Three times Lassie escapes from her new master, and three times she returns, until finally she is taken to the remotest part of Scotland-too far a journey for any dog to make alone.
But Lassie is not just any dog. Traveling nearly one thousand miles over punishing terrain, Lassie makes her courageous and painful way home to Joe. They are never separated again.
Lassie Come-Home is a classic, heart-warming tale about the love between a boy and his dog. The acclaimed picture-book edition by Rosemary Wells and Susan Jeffers is now a chapter book perfect for young readers
56 pages, Hardcover
First published October 15, 1995
5 people are currently reading
117 people want to read
About the author
Rosemary Wells
453 books380 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
Rosemary Wells is an American writer and illustrator of children's books. She often uses animal characters to address real human issues. Some of her most well-known characters are Max & Ruby and Timothy from Timothy Goes To School (both were later adapted into Canadian-animated preschool television series, the former’s airing on Nickelodeon (part of the Nick Jr. block) and the latter’s as part of PBS Kids on PBS).
Rosemary Wells is an American writer and illustrator of children's books. She often uses animal characters to address real human issues. Some of her most well-known characters are Max & Ruby and Timothy from Timothy Goes To School (both were later adapted into Canadian-animated preschool television series, the former’s airing on Nickelodeon (part of the Nick Jr. block) and the latter’s as part of PBS Kids on PBS).
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 39 reviews
January 10, 2018
Bērnībā šo šķiet, ka atnesa Ziemassvētku vecītis. Ļoti patika ilustrācijas.
June 10, 2020
This is described as being a "new picture-book edition written for young readers." The art is beautifully done by Susan Jeffers. She captures elements of the story that will help young (and old) readers visualize the setting. There's a beautifully rendered full-page map that shows Lassie's journey from the very north of Scotland to Greenall Bridge in England.
I have not read the original version of Lassie, but this seems to capture the essence of the story. There were a couple places where the story seemed to jump abruptly to another chapter. A few transitional sentences would have helped. Overall, it was well-done. I look forward to reading it with one of the kids. (But I won't be reading the original story. I can see how it would be a real tear-jerker.)
I have not read the original version of Lassie, but this seems to capture the essence of the story. There were a couple places where the story seemed to jump abruptly to another chapter. A few transitional sentences would have helped. Overall, it was well-done. I look forward to reading it with one of the kids. (But I won't be reading the original story. I can see how it would be a real tear-jerker.)
March 12, 2016
Lassie is Joe's collie. She is very valuable to him. When Joe's father loses his job, Lassie gets sold. She keeps running away and comes back to Joe. She keeps doing that until his owner moves her to a very far away place. Lassie is still determined to get home. She escapes again, and starts her long journey home. On the way back, she faces danger, hunger, and gets hurt. When Joe finds Lassie, lying weakly on the ground waiting for him, Joe is very happy. Is Lassie going to stay with Joe, or is her new owner going to take her again? Read the book to find out!
I really like this book. It is so sweet. You have got to read this book!
I really like this book. It is so sweet. You have got to read this book!
July 31, 2010
Read this to my girls before nap time, it took us a couple days. My girls were concerned because I was crying at the end, but we made it through.great story about a boy and his dog. the dog is sold to a wealthy family because the Dad lost his job and they need money. However, the dog keeps getting away and returning to the boy.Then the new owner takes her 800 miles away and of course she escapes and heads home. the book is a tender account of her hardships to reach her beloved boy.It has a happy ending. beautifully illustrated.
October 7, 2012
I have an edition that was published in the 1940s that my Mum won at school. My grandmother read it to me as a child and I recently reread it - very interesting experience. Great dog story!
March 6, 2020
I love Susan Jeffers, this is a beautifully illustrated version of Lassie. I’ve never read any versions of the book, I think for an abridged version, it was a good one.
February 25, 2020
This book was the only Lassie book I could find on the shelf at our branch. When I saw it was an adaptation of Eric Knight's original short story from 1938 written by one of my favorite children's authors, Rosemary Wells, I knew I wanted to read it and share it here for Marvelous Middle-Grade Monday.
The story is touching, heartwrenching, and engaging all at the same time. Susan Jeffers's delightful illustrations add even more emotional depth to the story because they depict the bond between Joe, the young protagonist, and Lassie, his family's champion dog.
Without telling Joe, his father sold Lassie to a Duke who had a kennel full of champion dogs. Joe's father had lost his job in the coal mine, and the family was in dire need of the money gained from the sale of their dog. The Duke lived three miles away from Joe's family's home.
Lassie escaped from the kennel and ran back home to Joe. The Duke's hired hand came to retrieve Lassie and took her back to the Duke's kennel. The next day, Lassie escaped again and was waiting for Joe at his school, as she was on every other school day. Joe and his father took the dog back again.
The dog escaped one more time and was reluctantly returned to the Duke. This time the Duke moved Lassie up to the mountains of Scotland, the Highlands, eight hundred miles away! The journey was a two and a half day train ride from Joe's home in Greenall Bridge in England.
The Duke's granddaughter, Priscilla, was instrumental in helping Lassie escape from bondage on the grounds of her grandfather's castle. This part of the story was pretty amazing and exciting.
The rest of the story relates Lassie's long, arduous journey through Scotland and England. She was heading home. Kind humans helped Lassie along the way by feeding her. A woman demanded the dog catchers free Lassie from a dog catcher's net. With a promise to return in one hour to take the dog to the her home, Lassie was taken to the pound temporarily.
Desperate to escape from the pound, Lassie jumped out a window twenty-feet above the cobblestone street below. She was badly injured. An elderly couple found Lassie, collapsed, on their property and nursed her back to health. They named her Bonnie.
Meanwhile, back in Greenall Bridge, Joe was adjusting to not having Lassie around. By now it had been nearly a year since Lassie had been taken to the Highlands. Lassie was fewer than one hundred miles from home, but her trials and tribulations were not over yet. There was a fight with a farm dog in which Lassie was badly injured. There was a lack of food and bad weather. She was weak and sick.
One day Lassie was lying in the schoolyard when Joe's class was dismissed. She was too weak to walk any further, so Joe carried her home. The family nursed their beloved pet back to health, but that is not the end of the story . . . You'll have to read the story for yourself to learn the entire story!
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The story is touching, heartwrenching, and engaging all at the same time. Susan Jeffers's delightful illustrations add even more emotional depth to the story because they depict the bond between Joe, the young protagonist, and Lassie, his family's champion dog.
Without telling Joe, his father sold Lassie to a Duke who had a kennel full of champion dogs. Joe's father had lost his job in the coal mine, and the family was in dire need of the money gained from the sale of their dog. The Duke lived three miles away from Joe's family's home.
Lassie escaped from the kennel and ran back home to Joe. The Duke's hired hand came to retrieve Lassie and took her back to the Duke's kennel. The next day, Lassie escaped again and was waiting for Joe at his school, as she was on every other school day. Joe and his father took the dog back again.
The dog escaped one more time and was reluctantly returned to the Duke. This time the Duke moved Lassie up to the mountains of Scotland, the Highlands, eight hundred miles away! The journey was a two and a half day train ride from Joe's home in Greenall Bridge in England.
The Duke's granddaughter, Priscilla, was instrumental in helping Lassie escape from bondage on the grounds of her grandfather's castle. This part of the story was pretty amazing and exciting.
The rest of the story relates Lassie's long, arduous journey through Scotland and England. She was heading home. Kind humans helped Lassie along the way by feeding her. A woman demanded the dog catchers free Lassie from a dog catcher's net. With a promise to return in one hour to take the dog to the her home, Lassie was taken to the pound temporarily.
Desperate to escape from the pound, Lassie jumped out a window twenty-feet above the cobblestone street below. She was badly injured. An elderly couple found Lassie, collapsed, on their property and nursed her back to health. They named her Bonnie.
Meanwhile, back in Greenall Bridge, Joe was adjusting to not having Lassie around. By now it had been nearly a year since Lassie had been taken to the Highlands. Lassie was fewer than one hundred miles from home, but her trials and tribulations were not over yet. There was a fight with a farm dog in which Lassie was badly injured. There was a lack of food and bad weather. She was weak and sick.
One day Lassie was lying in the schoolyard when Joe's class was dismissed. She was too weak to walk any further, so Joe carried her home. The family nursed their beloved pet back to health, but that is not the end of the story . . . You'll have to read the story for yourself to learn the entire story!
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November 20, 2013
Definitely a tearjerker! All time classic boy and his dog story. Lassie is a smart, resourceful dog full of love, faithfulness and determination. During her journey of over a thousand miles to home Lassie meets up with some cruel and nice humans along the way. The most touching scene (aside from the ending) was the one with old couple in the cottage. When the old lady figures out that Lassie belongs to someone else and has to get back home really brought tears to my eyes. Loved the illustrations by Susan Jeffers; Lassie's fur looked so realistic (nice and fluffy), I wanted to run my fingers through it!
December 17, 2013
Lassie Come-Home is a book that I loved. It is a 1938 classic book. Joe's father decides to sell Lassie. But Joe doesn't want him to. Lassie gets free from the new owners and works her way back home. This book is like a book I read called A Dog's Way Home. I just think its one of the best books ever.
July 29, 2015
I just finished reading this to my 5 1/2 and nearly-3 year old. I've read it before, but this was their first time hearing it. I'm not sure how well they liked it; they listened attentively but I think parts of it may have been a little upsetting for them (even in this very VERY mild abridged version). The illustrations are so beautiful.
May 27, 2008
A Classic! I love this book soo much, all about how Lassie saved a boy in a fire of a barn. She was made to be well known as Lassie the Collie hero! Too back I don't have a Collie. I only have Shelties, which people make mistakes as Miniature Collies.
January 13, 2008
read this book over and over
October 1, 2009
Mommy says: Is, was and always will be a classic tearjerker about a dog's love for her family and her boy. Great to read over 2-3 nights.
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August 15, 2010A beautiful boy and his dog love story.
February 9, 2015
This is a book I should have read when I was younger, but never encountered. A beautiful story of a faithful and brave dog as she treks over 400 miles to make it back home. A wonderful doggy tale.
March 22, 2015
I liked it more than the boy did, perhaps because his listening enjoyment was constantly interrupted by sob breaks.
June 4, 2015
Read this to my 10 year old. I bought this book when I was 10 and never read it, so it was lovely to finally get around to reading this story.
I used to love Lassie as a child.
I used to love Lassie as a child.
November 26, 2018
A very sad book but very detailed and I would love to read it again.
January 19, 2021
Beautiful book that had all of us nearly in tears! Read to go along with our virtue study of loyalty.
April 4, 2017
" My Lassie come-home and they'll have to pull me limb from limb before they ever take you away again". This book was excellent everything about it left me eager to read page after page until the very end. They say the bond between a boy and his dog is strong but, the bond Joe and Lassie have is mind-blowing. The story's beginning leaves me emotional as I read how Joe slowly dies inside having to give Lassie up; I have never owned a pet but, anyone can feel the sorrow from his experience. The author Rosemary Wells does a phenomenal job conveying the character's emotions through text. For example quote from pg. 46 " You've only stopped for a wee rest haven't you my girl", "I know, I know you want to be on your way, don't you? I can't see one I love so much in sorrow". I nearly bawled reading this moment as you can feel the character's emotion emanating from her words. The descriptions of Lassie the author provides, are also done well as the majority of the book is told through the dog's perspective you can feel what she's going through and her struggle to go home.
The Illustrations are beautiful, almost hand drawn images that are a marvel to look at. On pages 34 and 35 There is an amazing illustration of Lassie standing near a lake that's positively breath-taking. Lassie's design is very well done and the drawings of her look very authentic to how a dog should look especially the parts where she's drenched in the rain (pg.42). I've never read something that made this much an emotional impact on me and I wouldn't know anyone who wouldn't. This book capture emotions in an amazing way that you empathize strongly with the characters; And with a visual style that captures the story perfectly. I'd do more then recommend it I'd personally hand someone a copy if I could this book is that good!
The Illustrations are beautiful, almost hand drawn images that are a marvel to look at. On pages 34 and 35 There is an amazing illustration of Lassie standing near a lake that's positively breath-taking. Lassie's design is very well done and the drawings of her look very authentic to how a dog should look especially the parts where she's drenched in the rain (pg.42). I've never read something that made this much an emotional impact on me and I wouldn't know anyone who wouldn't. This book capture emotions in an amazing way that you empathize strongly with the characters; And with a visual style that captures the story perfectly. I'd do more then recommend it I'd personally hand someone a copy if I could this book is that good!
February 17, 2013
Lassie Come-Home is a classic book about a young boy and the bond he shares with his dog Lassie. One day young Joe’s life gets flipped upside down when his beloved dog was sold, and taken away from him. Joe had to do whatever he could to deal with the fact that Lassie is not coming home any more, but this bond was something special and eventually lead to a heartwarming ending. The illustrations that this story provided were very helpful because they painted the picture of what Lassie had to go through on her journey home.
This book is very appealing to me because of the relationship of the child and dog. It shows the loyalty and bond that a dog can form with a family much like the one in my own house. Although the story starts of very sad, and makes you feel bad for the child and dog; the reunion in the end is breathtaking and hits the heart.
An activity I would use for this would be in three steps according to Laura Ridge it would be a good idea before reading the book to talk about different kinds of collies, and characteristics of a collie. Then during the reading you can make a list of vocab words, and go over those with the kids or have them look it up. Then after the book talk about the sadness that comes with the loss of a pet and different ways of coping with it. Then you can have the students write a paragraph about how they would deal with the loss of something special or how they have dealt with the loss of something special to them.
This Lexile level of this book is a 760L and would be an appropriate read aloud for grades kindergarten to fifth grade and should be independently reading the book by middle of fourth grade.
This book is very appealing to me because of the relationship of the child and dog. It shows the loyalty and bond that a dog can form with a family much like the one in my own house. Although the story starts of very sad, and makes you feel bad for the child and dog; the reunion in the end is breathtaking and hits the heart.
An activity I would use for this would be in three steps according to Laura Ridge it would be a good idea before reading the book to talk about different kinds of collies, and characteristics of a collie. Then during the reading you can make a list of vocab words, and go over those with the kids or have them look it up. Then after the book talk about the sadness that comes with the loss of a pet and different ways of coping with it. Then you can have the students write a paragraph about how they would deal with the loss of something special or how they have dealt with the loss of something special to them.
This Lexile level of this book is a 760L and would be an appropriate read aloud for grades kindergarten to fifth grade and should be independently reading the book by middle of fourth grade.
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September 15, 2014Not having read Eric Knight's original story of this, I didn't know what to expect of this picture book adaptation of the story of the faithful collie dog Lassie, who undergoes incredible hardships to return to her home and family. Now that I've finished this, I have mixed feelings. Even after the creators of this version rendered the story into a more simplified version, this book is rather wordy for an audience of picture-book age. Not only that, but there are some pretty heavy themes for the little darlings to be mulling over: there's lots of class tensions, and income inequality, and families on the verge of homelessness and abject poverty.
Not to mention all the times poor Lassie nearly died!
The illustrations are beautiful and the story is compelling, but I suspect that this picture book is best for children beginning to transition into chapter books. And if your child is beyond picture-book age, perhaps introduce him or her to the original classic.
Not to mention all the times poor Lassie nearly died!
The illustrations are beautiful and the story is compelling, but I suspect that this picture book is best for children beginning to transition into chapter books. And if your child is beyond picture-book age, perhaps introduce him or her to the original classic.
September 27, 2017
(Eric Knight's Original 1938 Classic)
Alissa would only listen to a page or two before she said: It's too long. I finally finished it myself and cried through most of it. Now I want to read the original.
Alissa would only listen to a page or two before she said: It's too long. I finally finished it myself and cried through most of it. Now I want to read the original.
February 28, 2016
I gave my copy of this book to my grandson, Lewis.
March 6, 2018
a book i loved so much as a child.
Rereading it, or rather, seeing the pictures and letting the memories flow in turned me into a puddle of tears. so very poignant and touching and fjsnald
Rereading it, or rather, seeing the pictures and letting the memories flow in turned me into a puddle of tears. so very poignant and touching and fjsnald
May 19, 2020
A delightful story with the most beautiful of illustrations. I shared this story with my 12 year old son. He too thought it was wonderful! Picture books aren't just for little kids!
April 3, 2024
This adaptation is considerably shorter than the original Lassie and a good summarized version that will appeal to younger readers. I did feel there needed to be a few better flowing sentences when reading this aloud, but I just tried to adapt as I read. I noticed this same problem with flow in another one of the author’s books (Mary on Horseback) but she is a gifted writer nonetheless and did so well allowing the story of Lassie to be shared with a younger generation!
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March 30, 2024I started reading this book to my afternoon classes a few years ago. Students love it because it has a happy ending and because they can certainly relate to loving a pet. Full of wonderful ideas that students today should ponder - love, responsibility, loyalty, perseverance.... Text heavy for what I think of as a picture book, but definitely a great read aloud with all the pictures!
March 6, 2024
Great adaptation.
May 3, 2024
Such a heartwarming story, and gorgeous illustrations to enjoy. Long enough to spread out over several readings, but now we’d like to read the original, full length story!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 39 reviews