James Herriot (1) (1916–1995)

All Creatures Great and Small is one of the funniest books I've read in my life, with humor that I think would appeal to a wide audience. I usually steer clear of animal-themed stories because they tend to be maudlin, but All Creatures Great and Small isn't that kind of animal book. Herriot wrote about his most memorable, strange adventures as a large-animal veterinarian who visited various farms to handle all manner of cases, at all hours of day and night.

I knew absolutely nothing about show more large-animal veterinarianism before reading this book; it wasn't something I gave much, if any, thought to. What I learned is that the profession is challenging obviously for the actual work but also exhausting because of the hours. Creatures don't always give birth at convenient times. If a cow is giving birth at the ungodly hour of 3:00 AM, the veterinarian can't exactly ask her to wait until a better time.

I read this many years before joining Goodreads, but I still remember one of the most memorable, and hilarious, accounts involved Herriot reaching far into a pig's vagina to help deliver her piglets. As if that isn't bad enough, one of the piglets kept biting his hand with its "needle teeth." This is such a bizarre (but needed!) profession. I suggest recounting such anecdotes in detail to all children who dreamily claim they want to be vets when they grow up.

Books containing great humor endear themselves to me almost immediately, and this gem holds a special place in my heart. I wish more writers wrote humor like Herriot did. show less

From the pen of James Herriot, author of a series of famous and much-loved memoirs for adult readers, detailing his life as a country veterianarian in Yorkshire, comes this poignant but ultimately heartwarming tale for children. It occurs in the home of Mrs. Pickering, a client of Herriot's, who had three basset hounds, and who regularly fed a shy stray cat named Debbie. This feline visitor would come into her home, stand briefly before the fire, and then depart again. Then one snowy show more Christmas day, in terrible shape, she came back to die, bringing her kitten with her. Debbie's death was terribly sad, but it brought Buster the retriever-cat into Mrs. Pickering's life - the best Christmas present she ever had...

One of a number of picture-books from Herriot, The Christmas Day Kitten has always been one of my favorites. I've read all five of his memoirs, and a number of his children's stories, and I never fail to be moved by their wonderful sense of humanity, and love for "all creatures great and small," or to be entertained and engrossed by the marvelous voice of the narrator. Herriot was undoubtedly an excellent veterinarian, but he was also a talented writer. I had tears in my eyes, as I reread Debbie and Buster's tale, even though I knew what was coming when I started it. The artwork by Ruth Brown, a celebrated British picture-book illustrator whose other titles include A Dark, Dark Tale and Gracie the Lighthouse Cat, is absolutely beautiful, capturing the feline charm of Debbie and Buster and the droopy appeal of the basset hounds. My favorite scene might have been the one in which Debbie disappears across a green Yorkshire field, but they are all beautiful. Highly recommended, to all James Herriot fans, and to anyone looking for poignant animal stories for children that address both the joy and sorrow they bring to the people in their lives. show less

These are the delightful, semi-autobiographical stories of veterinary surgeon James Herriot (real name Alf Wight) who trained in Glasgow then began practicing in the beautiful Yorkshire Dales and the North York Moors in the 1940s.

From his arrival at Skeldale House, Darrowby, the stories are captivating. James deals with all manner of veterinary challenges, ornery farmers, and stoical country people. He seems to spend an inordinate amount of time with his arm right up a large animal’s back show more end. There are other memorable characters who add to the cosy drama of these stories: his very English employer Siegfried Farnon, Siegfried’s loveable hapless brother Tristan, the backbone of the practice, Mrs. Hall the housekeeper, rich elderly widower Mrs. Pumphrey and her pampered Pekinese Tricky Woo. And last but not least the beautiful farmer’s daughter Helen.

I thoroughly enjoyed rereading this book with its animal stories, the humour, and the wholesome romance. James is a nice, thoroughly likeable character and the book gives an insight into life in the Dales in the 1940s and the life lead by the Yorkshire farmers. show less

In the late 1930s, during the period near the end of the Great Depression but before the world went to war, a young Scotsman graduates from veterinary school and looks for any job he can get. His search leads him to accepting a position as an associate at a small practice in the Yorkshire Dales, where he will be responsible for healing both livestock and house pets. Although well-trained academically, he is woefully short of practical experience, something that the local farmers and his show more colleagues alike are only too happy to point out. Nevertheless, the young man perseveres and soon becomes a respected and indispensable part of the community. Along the way, he learns his craft by dealing with literally hundreds of animals—as well as their owners, in many cases—under conditions that range from harrowing to humorous. Above it all, though, he also finds himself enamored and deeply affected by the people, the landscape, and the rhythm of life in his newly adopted home.

All Creatures Great and Small is the memoir of James Herriot, the humble and thoughtful man who embarks on this heartwarming journey. (Incidentally, while it is a history, the book apparently is not a strictly verbatim account; for instance, James Herriot is the pen name for James “Alf” Wight, the man who actually wrote it about three decades later based on his experiences.) Over the course of 67 relatively short chapters, Herriot delivers tale after delightful tale of his work with the animals, his interactions with the local inhabitants, his budding friendships with his boss and his boss’ younger brother, his growing admiration for the natural world around him, and, most of all, his halting courtship of the woman who will become his wife. While each of these chapters often relates a distinct event, collectively they constitute a chronicle of the author’s life as he moves through the first few years of his new career.

It is hard to express just how utterly charming I found this entire volume to be. Herriot may well have been a gifted and empathetic veterinarian—and, by all indications, he certainly was—but he was just as clearly a remarkable writer. While his stories of treating animals (particularly the large ones: cows, horses, pigs, and sheep) were uniformly splendid, where the author’s prose really stood out for me was in his descriptions of the northern English countryside as the seasons changed from the harsh realities of late fall and winter to the life-affirming growth of spring and summer. Beyond that, Herriot had a real talent for capturing the essence of his human subjects in subtle ways, either through the words they spoke or the actions they took. He lived at a time and under circumstances that are rapidly receding from memory, but we are fortunate to have such a gentle and endearing tribute to remind us all of what took place. show less