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Lassie: Adventures in Alaska
Big Little Book Series
Earthquake! Corey Stuart and Lassie are caught in its icy grip. What more can happen? Exciting, almost unbelievable adventures!
Earthquake! Corey Stuart and Lassie are caught in its icy grip. What more can happen? Exciting, almost unbelievable adventures!
249 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1967
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28 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
October 23, 2024
The book was ok. My son Matthew thought of me when he was out to get it, so that ups the value as I will always think of it as a gift from my boy. Story is in Alaska and has elements of wolves, a wolverine, a frozen mammoth, and the main character trapped by a rock from an earthquake.
It is 'A Big Little Book' published in 1967 with text on one side of a page and a picture on the other. Cute little size, but turning the 248 pages to get through the short story got tiring for me.
My favorite unrealistic Lassie skill in the book was that he was able to keep getting wood and feed it to the fire to keep it going while his master slept. That would be a neat trick.
Overall it was a book to look at and say, 'what a cute book' and then go and get another book instead.
It is 'A Big Little Book' published in 1967 with text on one side of a page and a picture on the other. Cute little size, but turning the 248 pages to get through the short story got tiring for me.
My favorite unrealistic Lassie skill in the book was that he was able to keep getting wood and feed it to the fire to keep it going while his master slept. That would be a neat trick.
Overall it was a book to look at and say, 'what a cute book' and then go and get another book instead.
November 15, 2015
I had this book as a very young child and LOVED the illustrations in it! In fact, I probably never read the story, but the pictures hooked me! The book is a "big little book" which means it is small, about 3 inches by 4 inches, but thick, about 1 inch thick, 248 pages, with every other page being a picture, so 124 pictures!
And just look at the cover! Lassie gets to play with a Woolly Mammoth! What could be better than that! And inside, there are many pictures of wolves, and wolverines, and moose, and of wonderful, brave Lassie. I loved Lassie! And I loved this book.
Flash forward many decades, and the adult me is browsing a used book sale and spots this little gem on the kids table. OH MY GOODNESS! I remember this cover! I remember this book! I have to have this book! I loved this book! So I splurge and spend the $.50 for it and bring it home to add to my treasured books shelf.
But then, silly me, I decided to READ the story.... GAH!!!
Who on earth decided that this story was a good children's story? It is HORRIBLE! There are so many things wrong with this book!
First off, what the heck is Lassie doing chasing a Woolly Mammoth on the cover? Woolly Mammoths are EXTINCT, and the only mammoth in the actual story is a frozen mass that falls out of an ice wall during an earthquake. The cover is TOTALLY DECEPTIVE.
Then the story gets really stupid. Ranger Corey gets his leg pinned under a rock during the earthquake avalanche, and Lassie (good dog Lassie) fetches him little sticks so he can build a little campfire to stay warm. But this little camp fire, in the frozen Alaska tundra, gets away from him, and BURNS UP THE MAMMOTH! Yes, a gargantuan frozen solid mass of Mammoth, frozen solid for thousands of year, catches fire and quickly and instantly burns down to nothing! I kid you not! The exact words are "In moments every last visage of the great beast had disappeared." Not only is this stupid, it is totally impossible for a frozen solid MAMMOTH to burn up in moments!
There are so many other things wrong with this book too. Some Tlingit Indians arrive, and they are portrayed as drunken, greedy, evil, idiots. The father even wants to shoot Lassie to eat her, even though the children mention they have sled dogs.
The wolverine is a "despised cabin-invader and trap line robber...the largest member of the bloodthirsty weasel family," and the wolves are also portrayed as vicious killers, though "Lassie easily eliminated one of the wolves before savage jaws clamped down on her own throat".
Several times we are told that Ranger Corey's gun is a Mossberg 800 rifle. That is really important to drill onto young children who may be reading this. Indians are evil, wild animals are evil, but Ranger Corey has a Mossberg 800 Rifle!
I could go on, but I won't. The story is stupid, horrific, and in no way factual or realistic. But I will be keeping this little big book for the pictures, because as a child I loved the pictures. But a little part of me has been CRUSHED by this story, this stupid, idiotic story!
And just look at the cover! Lassie gets to play with a Woolly Mammoth! What could be better than that! And inside, there are many pictures of wolves, and wolverines, and moose, and of wonderful, brave Lassie. I loved Lassie! And I loved this book.
Flash forward many decades, and the adult me is browsing a used book sale and spots this little gem on the kids table. OH MY GOODNESS! I remember this cover! I remember this book! I have to have this book! I loved this book! So I splurge and spend the $.50 for it and bring it home to add to my treasured books shelf.
But then, silly me, I decided to READ the story.... GAH!!!
Who on earth decided that this story was a good children's story? It is HORRIBLE! There are so many things wrong with this book!
First off, what the heck is Lassie doing chasing a Woolly Mammoth on the cover? Woolly Mammoths are EXTINCT, and the only mammoth in the actual story is a frozen mass that falls out of an ice wall during an earthquake. The cover is TOTALLY DECEPTIVE.
Then the story gets really stupid. Ranger Corey gets his leg pinned under a rock during the earthquake avalanche, and Lassie (good dog Lassie) fetches him little sticks so he can build a little campfire to stay warm. But this little camp fire, in the frozen Alaska tundra, gets away from him, and BURNS UP THE MAMMOTH! Yes, a gargantuan frozen solid mass of Mammoth, frozen solid for thousands of year, catches fire and quickly and instantly burns down to nothing! I kid you not! The exact words are "In moments every last visage of the great beast had disappeared." Not only is this stupid, it is totally impossible for a frozen solid MAMMOTH to burn up in moments!
There are so many other things wrong with this book too. Some Tlingit Indians arrive, and they are portrayed as drunken, greedy, evil, idiots. The father even wants to shoot Lassie to eat her, even though the children mention they have sled dogs.
The wolverine is a "despised cabin-invader and trap line robber...the largest member of the bloodthirsty weasel family," and the wolves are also portrayed as vicious killers, though "Lassie easily eliminated one of the wolves before savage jaws clamped down on her own throat".
Several times we are told that Ranger Corey's gun is a Mossberg 800 rifle. That is really important to drill onto young children who may be reading this. Indians are evil, wild animals are evil, but Ranger Corey has a Mossberg 800 Rifle!
I could go on, but I won't. The story is stupid, horrific, and in no way factual or realistic. But I will be keeping this little big book for the pictures, because as a child I loved the pictures. But a little part of me has been CRUSHED by this story, this stupid, idiotic story!
November 9, 2013
I remember reading this book when I was four years old. I am so excited to have found it again 39 years later! I remember being confused about the mammoth, not sure if it was alive or had come back to life when the fire melted it out of the ice.
Reading this book is one of my earliest childhood memories!
Reading this book is one of my earliest childhood memories!
May 7, 2018
How I loathe to give such a low star rating to a Lassie book. I loooove Lassie the collie so much, but this book is crazy!
The story is just weird... after an earthquake takes places in frozen Alaska, a woolly mammoth pops out of the ice, long forgotten by time. Forest Ranger Corey Stuart believes he has the find of the century, but his leg is pinned under a boulder and he can't go anywhere. He has to rely on Lassie to collect firewood to keep him warm (this part was actually sentimental, how she cared for him and would add to the fire again and again throughout the night).
If you want to know if the book is too scary for your kid to read... there are wolves that attack Corey, rifle gunshots, and other things like... a bloodthirsty wolverine...
I had hoped for a better version of a Lassie adventure... but it still had some qualities I liked. The pictures on every other page were done pretty well, and it added interest to the story overall.
Anyways. I'm going to search for some other Lassie books now, hopefully with happier plots.
The story is just weird... after an earthquake takes places in frozen Alaska, a woolly mammoth pops out of the ice, long forgotten by time. Forest Ranger Corey Stuart believes he has the find of the century, but his leg is pinned under a boulder and he can't go anywhere. He has to rely on Lassie to collect firewood to keep him warm (this part was actually sentimental, how she cared for him and would add to the fire again and again throughout the night).
If you want to know if the book is too scary for your kid to read... there are wolves that attack Corey, rifle gunshots, and other things like... a bloodthirsty wolverine...
I had hoped for a better version of a Lassie adventure... but it still had some qualities I liked. The pictures on every other page were done pretty well, and it added interest to the story overall.
Anyways. I'm going to search for some other Lassie books now, hopefully with happier plots.
June 28, 2015
Seriously mediocre BLB entry. Good artwork, but really boring and implausible story.
August 10, 2017
So implausible, so many bad science facts, so much Lassie being basically a human in the form of a dog. So many killed animals, and vague racism. Definitely a book from its era.
July 22, 2012
A warm memory from childhood. Such adventures for Lassie and her brave and caring master, Forest Service ranger, Corey - an earthquake, a mammoth, wolves, a ferocious wolverine, a fire! But faithful Lassie saves the day as usual. I remember my anticipation before seeing each cartoon-strip style illustration, one per every page of text, but I think what I liked the best was this book's compact format, small and fat. Just right for holding - appropriately named "A Big Little Book". In rereading it, one of my favourite lines is when two forest fire-fighters ("smoke jumpers") arrive just in the nick of time and Corey says "Say, where did you come from?" The reply is - "Never mind the comic strip chitchat," muttered one of them through his protective face shield. "We've got to get you out from under this rock and over to Bear Skull Rock..."
If you can get your hands on a copy, I’d recommend this for 7+ year olds not to mention a fun book to enjoy reading together out loud (with lots of pauses to share the illustrations, of course!)
If you can get your hands on a copy, I’d recommend this for 7+ year olds not to mention a fun book to enjoy reading together out loud (with lots of pauses to share the illustrations, of course!)
Currently reading
May 24, 2010Literally sitting on my desk. I do not know why and I can not seem to throw it away or get rid of it!
I think I might have had this book as a kid once. i never read it then and probably will never read it now. i can not shake it though?
I think I might have had this book as a kid once. i never read it then and probably will never read it now. i can not shake it though?
October 11, 2017
very action packed and for anone who likes an advenure book. i love lassie because i love dogs especialy collies.the end is abit sad because of the fire though
Read
March 7, 2021One of my earliest reading memories. I still have and cherish the book.
May 9, 2022
Entertaining - if extremely improbable - story of Lassie finding a frozen mammoth in Alaska, fighting off wolves and being eaten by eskimos. For younger readers or nostalgia fans.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews