The Incredible Journey

Story

Two dogs and a cat are left in the care of a family friend when their owner travels to England. When the friend sets off on a brief hunting trip, leaving them to be fed by his housekeeper, the animals set off on a perilous 300-mile journey across the Canadian wilderness back to their home. Along the way they help each other overcome starvation, exposure and wild animals and avoid the attentions of friendly, and not-so-friendly humans.

Why we chose it

Although The Incredible Journey was not written specifically for children this exciting and heart-warming adventure continues to delight young readers who love animals and nature. It has become a timeless classic.

Where it came from

Sheila Burnford was born in Scotland but moved to Canada with her husband and children in 1951. She wrote a story inspired by the close bond between their pets at the time – a Bull Terrier, a Siamese cat, and a young Labrador Retriever.

Initially a modest success The Incredible Journey became very popular when it was made into a film two years later.

Where it went next

The book won the Dorothy Canfield Fisher Children’s Book Award, the American Library Association and the Canadian Library Association Book of the Year and the IBBY honour.

Disney adapted the story into a highly successful film of the same name in 1963 and then again in 1993 as Homeward Bound – The Incredible Journey.

Associated stories

Burnford wrote One Woman’s Arctic (1973), a non-fictional account about spending two summers living in the Arctic. The same year she published a novel, Mr Noah and the Second Flood, in which Mr Noah, fearing that global pollution will cause a second flood, digs out his ancestor’s original plans and builds an ark.