Jan 12, 2010

A Childhood Memory

I have always been a reader.  As a young child I read books all the time.  A blogger who has been sharing her collection of beautiful vintage "Lassie" books has jogged my memory big-time.  I can remember going into my older brother's bedroom and digging around in his closet for something to read.  He loved to read as much as I did.  One of the first dog books I ever read, and perhaps the first, came from his collection, from his closet.  It was a dog-eared copy (no pun intended) of "Champion Dog Prince Tom."  It was definitely a Scholastic paperback that R either received through a classroom book order or an order from the Weekly Reader we all so anxiously awaited the mailbox arrival of during the summer months.  I took this picture from the Internet but this is the exact cover I remember so well:

Prince Tom is the true story of a cocker spaniel pup who was the lone blond runt of an all-black litter who went on to achieve greatness in utility trials, became a companion dog, and eventually a "Champion."  I remember reading this book over and over and over, but my recollection of the entire story these days is pretty rusty.  If my memory does serve me correctly, not much was expected of poor Tom initially and he had to overcome many obstacles.  I think the last time I read it I was around 12 years old, so it's been a long, long time.  I'd be curious to know if anyone else remembers this book?

4 comments:

Coralie Cederna Johnson said...

I'm not familiar with this book but it sounds like a great dog hero story! I love them all!!! Thanks for sharing...it's really fun to see the dog books of others! Hugs, Coralie

An English Shepherd said...

No but sounds like a good read :-)

Pat Wahler said...

Like you, I remember this cover. I'm pretty sure I read it, but don't recall any details.

Terra said...

I think we are enjoying the Lassie book covers on the same blog, or possibly from 2 different bloggers.
Those older books, including Black Beauty and The Black Stallion series inspired a lot of love for animals in readers.