“The stirring outdoor story about a young boy, Ted; his collie, Tammie; and a pair of tremendous bucks in the wild country of the Black Hills grew out of Jim Kjelgaard’s lifelong interest in deer. It began during his boyhood in Pennsylvania, at a time when the state’s great herds were at their peak. The two bucks of the story, Damon and Pythias, are based on a pair that the author actually observed. Young Ted, who wants so badly to own and run a hunting camp, is a boy he really knew, while loyal Tammie, who acts as a secret carrier of supplies and messages to Ted’s father, hiding out in the woods because the sheriff wants him on a serious charge, manipulated by his ruthless enemy, is a composite of several dogs Jim Kjelgaard has owned..
Author
an American author of young adult literature. Born in New York City, New York, Jim Kjelgaard is the author of more than forty novels, the most famous of which is 1945's "Big Red." It sold 225,000 copies by 1956 and was made into a 1962 Walt Disney film with the same title, Big Red. His books were primarily about dogs and wild animals, often with animal protagonists and told from the animal's point of view. Jim Kjelgaard committed suicide in 1959, after suffering for several years from chronic pain and depression.
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