Call of the Wild by Jack London

From the Amazon product description: Kidnapped form his safe California home. Thrown into a life-and-death struggle on the frozen Artic wilderness. Half St. Bernard, half shepard, Buck learns many hard lessons as a sled dog: the lesson of the leash, of the cold, of near-starvation and cruelty. And the greatest lesson he learns from his last owner, John Thornton: the power of love and loyalty.

Yet always, even at the side of the human he loves, Buck feels the pull in his bones, an urge to answer his wolf ancestors as they howl to him.

I listened to this on audio book while on a long car ride with Youngest and Tween. I thought it would hold their interest since it is about dogs and so much outdoor adventure. They both like survival stories like Gary Paulsen writes - the difference being this one is animals rather than a boy. But there was a problem. The problem was that the book was written in 1903 so the style of language and the vocabulary were just too different from what the boys are used to for them to understand it comfortably. Probably if we were reading it, where they could look at some illustrations, ask questions, and reread confusing passages, it would be better but this was just too tough for them on audio. So it wasn't for the boys but I liked it! I liked the different dogs having their own personalities and the whole idea of the dog community. Kind of reminded me of Watership Down in that regard (one of my old favorites that I really should reread). Call of the Wild is a classic, I'm glad I listened to it not just because I enjoyed the story but also because I feel like I expanded my cultural literacy - one more question on Jeopardy now within my reach!


This book counts toward the 2010 Audiobook Challenge hosted by the bloggers over at Royal Reviews. Click on the button to see my progress.