It depicts the suffering and stress of an arduous journey, together with the unwavering loyalty and courage of the three animals.

The Incredible Journey (1961), by Scottish author Sheila Burnford, is a children's book first published by Hodder & Stoughton, which tells the story of three pets as they travel 300 miles (480 km) through the Canadian wilderness searching for their beloved masters. There are some lovely illustrations in this book. This edition was published in 1961 by The Book Club. Internally the book is in good condition and does have a previous owners name on the first page. The dustjacket has some wear which can be seen in the photos. In good condition (see photos) considering age. What a pleasant surprise.The Incredible Journey by Sheila Burnford. I have no idea how the prissy Sassy was spawned from Tao, but, for me, Tao stole the show. He was SUCH a badass and WAY better than the movie version.

However, the cat (in this, a male Siamese named Tao) made up for every qualm I had. And I'm still fairly indifferent toward Luath (the young Labrador). I actually had some disdain for Bodger at first (here he's the old Bull Terrier), though that did vanish entirely by the end of the book. There's no real rapport built before they take off on their journey, so their adventures start without being invested in their safety. I also had a hard time developing an attachment for the three main animals at first. (Though I didn't think it was particularly fair that the trio can kill animals for food, as can the humans, but a lynx is 'evil' if it tries to.) Probably more of an honest look at survival, I imagine. The plot gets pretty dark and somewhat gruesome at times. There's certainly very little light-heartedness here. I don't think I can truly consider this book on its own without looking at the differences from the movie. Where are the Don Ameche, Sally Field, and Michael J. At this point the movie is a little too ingrained, and I don't know how unbiased I can be.

I hadn't realized it was based off of a book (or a remake of another movie, for that matter), and I wish I'd read the book as a child. I figure, like a lot of 90s kids, I saw the movie Homeward Bound somewhere in the vicinity of a million times.

The incredible journey burnford