If you could have a wild animal for a pet, what animal would you like to have?
A lion?
A crocodile?
A penguin?
A whale?
Well, in today’s blog post, I’m gonna do a book review on an apparently classic Christian children’s book called Ruggy The Mountain Buck by Mabel Earp Cason. In the story, Danny Burton gets to have a wild deer buck named Ruggy as a pet.
And throughout the book, Danny and his family experience the ups and downs of having a wild deer as a part of the household.
What I Liked About The Book…
Before I share what I liked about Ruggy The Mountain Buck, I wanna quickly mention that this book is targeted for children, maybe ages 10-12 or so. However, if you’re a parent reading this, I wanna also say that there’s some scenes in the book that I’d give some caution to (more on that later).
Anyway, as for what I personally liked about the book, I’d say:
- The rich descriptions of the country life of Danny and his family
- The close, warm bond that Danny develops with his Uncle Russel
- The cute friendship that Ruggy has with Nickel the dog
- Danny’s determination to become a doctor
- The parts of the book where the story’s told from Ruggy’s perspective
What I Didn’t Like About The Book
As I mentioned earlier, there’s several scenes in the book that I would advise certain parents to be cautious and aware of (plus, these are the scenes that I personally disliked).
- Ruggy experiencing–yet surviving–two bloody attacks against him
- Hunter violence against Ruggy and his friends
- The scene where the reader is nearly DUPED into believing that Ruggy was killed by a bear (GOOD NEWS: he wasn’t!)
Conclusion
What is my personal conclusion for Ruggy The Mountain Buck?
Two words: Four stars
It was a great book to read when it came to learning about mountain country life through the eyes of Danny, his family, and his pet deer Ruggy.
But frankly, I personally disliked the amount of hunter violence in the book.