If You Love Animals, You’ll Love This ‘Couples Reading Together’ Selection

There’s a reason the classic novel All Creatures Great and Small by James Herriot has been loved by generations of readers all over the world.

This engaging and entertaining book immediately grabs your interest and holds it until the very end.

Originally published in the US in 1972, All Creatures Great and Small is a collection of stories about a country veterinarian practicing in the Yorkshire Dales of England from the late 1930s through the 1950s. Its recent resurgence in popularity is probably because of the excellent PBS Masterpiece series based on the book that is currently in season six.

In the book, Herriott describes his early days as a vet. We follow his rounds from farm to farm while he treats cows, horses, pigs, and sheep. Back at the clinic, he cares for small animals. Along the way, we meet a fascinating variety of people and experience the wild beauty of the Dales. You feel like you are there with him all the while, thanks to the author’s wonderful descriptions, characterizations, and dialogue.

The original UK series of novels (written by Alf Wight who used the pen name James Herriot) included eight books. In the US, they have been combined into a series of five books. We’re planning to read them all, and we think you’ll feel the same once you read All Creatures Great and Small.

Bob Says:

I totally enjoyed watching the TV series, and have found the book to be even better. This is a true story about the author’s adventures as a vet in rural England. The main characters are Seigfred Farnon, the owner of the veterinary clinic, his younger brother Tristan (who seems to cause trouble most of the time), and James Herriot, who is the newly hired, fresh-out-of-vet-school assistant in the practice.

The book is well-written and easy to read. The stories are humorous, exciting, sad, or happy in turn. They include lots of detail and interesting facts, making this is a good education regarding the animals and veterinary procedures of the time.

I highly recommend All Creatures Great and Small to folks who love animals and enjoy reading and learning about them. You will love this book, one hundred percent!

Liz Says:

I first became familiar with All Creatures Great and Small as a teen. When we discovered the series on PBS, it brought back pleasant memories of reading the Readers Digest condensed version on rainy days at my grandparent’s cabin. Bob and I started watching the series, and we were immediately hooked. We binge-watched all the available episodes until we ran out and had to wait for them to come out with a new season. In the interim, we read the book.

If you decide to pick it up, be prepared for an emotional roller coaster! I went from tears to laughing out loud, and just about everything in between. I think Bob may have enjoyed the descriptions of the vet’s procedures a little more than I did, though. There were a couple of places where I could have used just a bit less description, but I’m a squeamish person. That didn’t diminish my enjoyment of the novel at all.

It’s more common for me to read a book and then watch the movie or series. Since we had already seen the PBS Masterpiece series before I read this, I pictured the main characters as the actors who portray them on TV while I was reading. In this case, I think the producers were pretty close to the original, with the story as well as the characters. Whether you have seen it or not, if you enjoy relaxing, entertaining books you’ll enjoy reading this classic novel.

Have you read the book All Creatures Great and Small or watched the PBS series? Tell us what you liked about them in the comments!

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