[.uk] Gray Dawn (ISBN 1880158353)

A handsome package of an old favorite:
Gray Dawn is a reissued paperback edition of the stories written by Albert Payson Terhune for The Ladies' Home Journal in 1927 in serial form. Many of us whose childhood spanned the 40's and 50's remember reading about the merle collie with the steadfast, loyal heart who was such a charming personality and unexpected clown. My mother-in-law reread it and remembered that reading Albert Payson Terhune's books about collies had inspired her to begin breeding collies. Her story is not unique. Terhune's tales of collies have touched all readers deeply over the years. It is good to see a lovely reprint of the Gray Dawn stories. My first reading of them came when I received a box of my uncle's childhood literary favorites which included Lad, A Dog, Gray Dawn, and at least eight or ten other Terhune titles. This was back in about 1953. Although Terhune has a reputation as a juvenile fiction writer, his books are not written "down" to children, and they hold continued appeal for the adult audience. There will always be a need for the authentic portrayal of the values of courage, honor, natural beauty, loyalty, and love of life. These are readily found in Gray Dawn, in addition to humour, intricate descriptive detail of natural surroundings, and an overflowing reverence for life. Introduced by Terhune scholar Wayne Lewis, this lovely new edition of Gray Dawn with its full color portrait of the grey collie on its cover is a handsome package of an old favorite ready for rediscovery by yet another generation. Perhaps many readers, like myself, will experience the joy of nostalgia while rereading the vivid pages. Terhune wears well.

Great for young readers:
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.

A classic about a crazy collie:
Albert Payson Terhune is most famous for his Lad books. However, while Lad was regal and proud, Gray Dawn was another story. This big crazy collie had a knack for innocently getting into the most ridiculous predicaments imagineable. Most of the stories in this book are based upon actual happenings in Gray Dawn's life and those that aren't Terhune claimed were based upon other dogs lives. You will laugh out loud at the antics of this merry, happy go luck collie as he somehow rambles into trouble gleefully innocent that anything wrong is going on around him as he somehow extracts himself from his misadventures in grand style. While this book is listed as fiction there was indeed a real Gray Dawn and to me the funniest story about him is placing Terhune in a Tuxedo standing along the lake waiting for his wife to attend a wedding. Gray Dawn of course sees him and playfully tackles him sending him head first into the lake! Terhune's thoughts about this are humorous as he falls into the lake as Gray Dawn looks on gleefully unaware of what he has done. Yes, you will laugh, smirk, chuckle and smile at the antics of this funny collie. But, like all Terhune books you will pass through the life of Gray Dawn and with Terhune your heart will break as Gray Dawn's life ends. A beautiful wonderful story about a great loveable collie who lived life to the fullest, driving his master crazy along the way yet somehow endearing himself to his master and to the reader because of his outstanding love for those around him. A must have for any Terhune fan or for anyone who loves dog stories. 5 Stars!

Classic stories about a wonder dog:
We have 2 blue merle collies, so naturally this book is high on our list of must-reads. Yes Terhune writes in a style that is stilted by today's standards (spot how grammar and punctuation rules have changed over the years). Still, the stories of Gray Dawn, the dog Terhune professed to dislike until he lost him, will resonate with children and adults alike today.