The Sailor Dog (A Little Golden Book)

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Summary: IT'S A DOG'S LIFE ON THE HIGH SEA
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Is there a more charming picture in children's literature than Scuppers the Sailor Dog standing on the prow of his little boat, dressed in wet weather gear, with a spyglass to his eye?

We are transported to a dog's world. If you love character-filled canine faces, this book will appeal. Scuppers is our little canine hero. His urge to go to sea is irresistible. The little gaff-rigged sailing boat that becomes Scuppers' home hardly looks seaworthy, with colourful patches on its sails.

It's hardly a luxurious boat, but Scuppers keeps it all very neat and "ship-shape". He has a hook for his hat, a hook for his rope and a hook for his spyglass.

Scuppers gets shipwrecked after a big storm. He is a resourceful dog and soon makes a house out of driftwood. The scene of Scuppers asleep on his deep green bed of pine branches inside his house is bathed in a beautiful, almost magical emerald green light.

He repairs his ship and sails way and soon comes to a seaport in a foreign land. The street scene is straight from a canine Kasbah. There are lady dogs dressed in full-length robes with everything but their eyes, paws and tails covered, balancing jars on their heads. The fact that all the characters in this book are dogs and they all walk on two legs is a minor detail.

Scuppers' needs new clothes after all his travels. It's very comical when he tries on the various hats and shoes of different shapes and colours.

The life at sea soon calls Scuppers back to his boat.

Stowing all his gear in its right place he is back " where he wants to be - a sailor sailing the deep green sea".

This book is a true children's classic having been first published 48 years ago. The brilliant pictures and the charming story mesh perfectly. Its high sales ranking on the Amazon listings demonstrates it has a timeless and universal appeal.

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Summary: I live the life of Scuppers, a dream from my childhood
Review: As a child I was read the story of Scuppers and drifted through the book's wonderful illustrations for hours. As a grown up I have a sailboat to sail aboard, as an engineer I keep everything organized (my shoes have one particular place on our boat), my wife has awakened in me the joys of travelling far from home, and I have always pursued every avenue to reach my goals. This book captured my fascination as a child like no other. Adventure, organization, and persistence aren't just for the dogs.

With our first child on the way I am thrilled to be able to buy a new copy, as the one on my parent's bookshelf at my childhood home has seen better days. Worn out from use no doubt.

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Summary: I based my whole life on the doggy wisdom of Scuppers.
Review: Excellent illustrations and a wonderful story about this can-do dog named Scuppers. Great cozy scenes, adventure, rocking boats, ship wrecks, house building, everything you ever need. The best book of my childhood.

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Summary: THE SAILOR DOG
Review: I read this story to my son while he was quite young. It was and still is his favorite childhood book. He is now 32, has sailed the western hemisphere from Puget Sound since the age of 18 choosing small, older craft that have classic lines. He is as resourceful and creative as Scuppers and knows what he wants from life. He has patterned his life of adventure and travel on this little guy, Scuppers The Salyor Dog, (his pronunciation). I can't imagine a better "role model" for a young boy or girl.

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Summary: A Childhood Favorite...
Review: Imagine my surprise when I found I can still get this book through Amazon! This was one of my very favorites when I was a child, and now I'm ordering it (even though I still have a very old "dog-eared" copy), for my child. Scuppers the Sailor Dog has marvelous adventures all around the world, while always putting away his clothes and spyglass neatly on their respective hooks. The illustrations are excellent and full of exotic locations around the world that I loved as a child and can still picture in my mind 30 years later. The story stayed with my Mother and I, so much so that we even named our dog Scuppers after the dog in this book. Thanks Amazon and Margaret Wise Brown for enabling me to relive this story with my own child

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Summary: Great book--but be careful!
Review: The five-star rating really applies to the original version of this book, which is indeed as wonderful as the reviews indicate. The thing to watch out for in this new edition is that four pages of illustration and some text from the original edition are left out--the airplane scene, fishing scene, and the little house at night with smoke coming out of the chimney. If you have a beloved, tattered old copy from your childhood, by all means buy this new edition as a copy for your kids to chew on. But don't throw the old one away! And, if you love Garth Williams or Helen Wise Brown, look for a copy of the original edition in a used book store or web equivalent to get the whole story. Of course, if you have never seen the original, you won't miss a thing. The story and illustrations are still wonderful.

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Summary: Down to the Sea in Doggy Ships!
Review: This 1953 story begins with Ms. Wise's typically lyrical prose: "Born at sea in the teeth of a gale, the sailor was a dog. Scuppers was his name." However, much of the book's language is not quite as enchanting, nor as warmly and wisely love-soaked as Ms. Brown's "Runaway Bunny." Perhaps it's just that this is aimed at a slightly older reader/listener than 'Bunny.'

The revelation here (in this Golden Book edition) is the very richly-hued palette of Garth Williams, who, for example, uses orange, purple, and varied shades of green with originality and flair. Some of his pictures recall (and may have inspired?) Richard Scarrey's busily occupied town creatures. The two-page illustration of Scuppers asleep in his cabin may very well lull your little one to sleep, and invite adult fantasies of building a cozy houseboat. Recommended!

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Summary: Writen for children or BY children?
Review: This 1953 story begins with Ms. Wise's typically lyrical prose: "Born at sea in the teeth of a gale, the sailor was a dog. Scuppers was his name." However, much of the book's language is not quite as enchanting, nor as warmly and wisely love-soaked as Ms. Brown's "Runaway Bunny." Perhaps it's just that this is aimed at a slightly older reader/listener than 'Bunny.'

The revelation here (in this Golden Book edition) is the very richly-hued palette of Garth Williams, who, for example, uses orange, purple, and varied shades of green with originality and flair. Some of his pictures recall (and may have inspired?) Richard Scarrey's busily occupied town creatures. The two-page illustration of Scuppers asleep in his cabin may very well lull your little one to sleep, and invite adult fantasies of building a cozy houseboat. Recommended!

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Summary: I loved this book 50 years ago and was thrilled to find it
Review: This book spoke to my soul as a little child (in the 1950s) - dreams of making it on my own, seeing the world, being adventurous. For years I looked for it, not remembering who it was by or the name. What a thrill to find it now and to be able to buy it for my friends' children and grandchildren! Thank you to Golden Books for bringing this back. But please give us an edition with all the illustrations and copy!

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Summary: Five Stars for the original edition!
Review: We have a copy of this book that has long since lost it's cover, and the lines from the first two (missing!) pages were scrawled in the margin by my mother some forty years ago. This is my own archetypical adventure, as I hope it will become for my children! I am happy to have a new copy for the kids to thrash, but join me in petitioning Golden Books to publish the original, including the missing drawings and text.