Although the dog is considered man’s best friend, a trip to the library confirms that the dog is also literature’s best friend. And clearly the feeling is mutual since dogs have been adored in literature for hundreds of years. Some of the first short novels that young readers encounter feature courageous canine companions — and these remain sentimental favorites throughout a reader’s life. As Lord Byron’s good friend, John Cam Hobhouse, once observed, the “[dog possesses] Beauty without Vanity, Strength without Insolence, Courage without Ferocity, and all the virtues of Man without his Vices.” Bookshelf presents a list of some of the most cherished classic dog novels:
The 101 Dalmatians by Dodie Smith
The Adventures of Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens
Because of Winn-Dixie by Kate DiCamillo
The Call of the Wild by Jack London
Cujo by Stephen King
The Dogs of Babel by Carolyn Parkhurst
Dumb Witness by Agatha Christie
Five Get Into a Fix by Enid Blyton
The Hound of the Baskervilles by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Lassie Come-Home by Eric Knight
My Dog Skip by Willie Morris
Old Yeller by Fred Gipson
The Plague Dogs by Richard Adams
Red Dog by Louis de Bernieres
The Rin Tin Tin Story by James W. English
Shiloh by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
Sounder by William Armstrong
White Fang by Jack London
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For further reading: abebooks.com/books/famous-dog-novels-lassie-marley/dogs-fiction.shtml?cm_mmc=nl-_-nl-_-C130902-h00-favdogAR-121214TG-_-01cta&abersp=1
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