Old Yeller is one of my favorite books of all time. Being a kid who grew up on a farm and had a dog (black lab named Belle) I too can relate to this story. I had to read this again this week because my childhood best friend and companion died my freshman year of college and I miss Belle. She was a great dog, a great hunting companion and someone who never gave me any guff... ha ha. Fred Gipson has a way of really showing you a great picture of what a boy has to do to be a man when is father is gone. I know this is cliche but in the time this book was written this is what happened. Travis the main character has to grow up fast when his father takes the cattle on a drive. The illustrations are some of my favorite in any book I have ever read. I like them because they are not on every page but they do depict a lot of the scenes you hope there are pictures for. They are all in black and white and they look almost like they are drawn in pencil. It fits the timeline of the book and fits the book to a T.