Product Description

This classic story of a boy and a dog growing up in small-town America by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Willie Morris is "written with the gentle wisdom of an E.B. White and the eternal youth of a Huck Finn" (Atlanta Journal-Constitution). Author reading tour.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #65432 in Books
• Published on: 1996-01-30
• Released on: 1996-01-30
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 128 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780679767220
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

From Publishers Weekly
Former Harper's editor Morris presents a memoir of his small-town childhood in the 1940s and the dog who shared it with him.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal
In 1943, nine-year-old Morris first met Skip, an English smooth-haired fox terrier puppy who immediately went to sleep in his arms. From that magical moment of connection ("I was an only child, and he now was an only dog") until Morris left home to go to college, boy and dog were inseparable companions. In this sweetly sentimental if slight memoir, the author of New York Days (LJ 8/93) and North Toward Home (9/15/67) recalls growing up with Skip in the small, sleepy town of Yazoo, Mississippi. Unlike the other dogs Morris's family had owned, Skip was special. He could play football, running the "Statue of Liberty" play, much to the amazement of spectators ("Look at that dog playin' football!"). With a little assistance from Morris, Skip could drive a car ("Look at that ol' dog drivin' a car!"). He could run the 100-yard dash in 7.8 seconds, a world record for fox terriers. For anyone who has ever loved a dog, Morris's loving tribute will be a delightful read.
--Wilda Williams, "Library Journal"
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review
"A rich experience all around.... Skip turns out to be a dog worth writing about.... I'd take him home in a shot."  -Bruce McCall, The New York Times Book Review -- Review

Customer Reviews

A Boy and His Dog...
What a wonderful book! Willie Morris is a wonderful storyteller and his re-telling of his childhood with his dog skip is just wonderful. He weaves a story that every pet lover and childhood pet owner can relate to. Willie is 9 years old when he gets Skip and they become inseperable. Skip is like a little brother to Willie who is an only child. Together they have many adventures in the Delta and spend so much time together. Skip is well known throughout the whole town and is pretty much treated like a little person.
The reader is transported back into the 40's with Willie and his dog. The imagery is so vivid that you really feel as if you are there. I love books set in this time period when things were so much simpler. Morris' story took me back to that time.
I very rarely cry at books, but I bawled at this one. It brought out so many of my childhood memories and I could hardly put it down. The adventures were wonderful, the scenery was vivid, and the characters are some that I will not forget for along time to come. I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to take a little break from our fast paced world and visit Skip's!

A Wonderful Story
I read this book when it first came out about five years ago. I think it's a wonderful story about a small boy and his best friend. It also is a very good look at what life was like in America, particularly in the South, at a time when things weren't as complicated as they are today and when a kid could really just be a kid. I was born in the early '50's, so I can sort of relate to some of Willie Morris's adventures as a child, even though I grew up in a big city (Memphis, TN). I am currently reading "Spit McGee" and I find it just as cute and charming as "Skip". I can't wait to see the movie. I recommend this book to anyone who has ever owned a dog (I have a 13 year-old beagle) who, while not as energetic as Skip, is just as special to me as Skip was to Willie Morris.

One of the BEST dog stories I've ever read
I LOVED this book. I have owned many a dog in my life and this book summed it all up well. Much better than the usual psychological gibberish about how we humans anthropomorphize our animals... who CARES! They are part of our lives and part of our families (for most of us anyway) and this story draws out all the feelings of love, laughter and loss that each of us who have loved and lost a dog know. It was a great read.