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jeriwho's review against another edition
4.0
The biggest draw of GRAY DAWN for young readers is that he starts out as "the underdog," not respected by his own master. Gray Dawn's struggle to find his courage is one that many adults may pass off as too corny, but I think children will find it as meaningful now as they ever did . Gray Dawn, the cowardly puppy who desperately wants to be liked, discovers that when the person he loves is in danger, he is as brave as his master could wish. And that link, of love to courage, is such a priceless lesson to children today, when courage is perceived as swaggering and boasting and having big muscles, that any parent should jump to get a story that tells the real truth about courage.
Indeed, GRAY DAWN is the Terhune book that, I think, most clearly talks about love as a transforming element and also as that bedrock on which all goodness rests. Yes, Gray Dawn is a clown, and a foolish dog in many ways, but every time it comes down to what he loves, he grows one step further and does the right thing. Terhune can sometimes over-hammer his points home, but for the most part he does not do so in this book. Children readers have here a story about all the antics and adventures of a dog, but GRAY DAWN is also about growing up and taking on mature responsibilities, about being yourself as much as you want as long as your heart is true to your loved ones.
In spite of a dated narrative and a writing style that is, at times, heavy handed, I think this is the best of Terhune's books because Gray Dawn really does face what all growing children face: bullies, and terrors, and people who lie to them and try to hurt them, and dear friends, and family, and funny situations, and the joy of being alive. And Gray Dawn, like the reader, is not perfect, and that's refreshing. But in the end, he comes through.
Indeed, GRAY DAWN is the Terhune book that, I think, most clearly talks about love as a transforming element and also as that bedrock on which all goodness rests. Yes, Gray Dawn is a clown, and a foolish dog in many ways, but every time it comes down to what he loves, he grows one step further and does the right thing. Terhune can sometimes over-hammer his points home, but for the most part he does not do so in this book. Children readers have here a story about all the antics and adventures of a dog, but GRAY DAWN is also about growing up and taking on mature responsibilities, about being yourself as much as you want as long as your heart is true to your loved ones.
In spite of a dated narrative and a writing style that is, at times, heavy handed, I think this is the best of Terhune's books because Gray Dawn really does face what all growing children face: bullies, and terrors, and people who lie to them and try to hurt them, and dear friends, and family, and funny situations, and the joy of being alive. And Gray Dawn, like the reader, is not perfect, and that's refreshing. But in the end, he comes through.
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