The Incredible Journey

by Sheila Burnford

John thinks the animals are safe at home and the housekeeper thinks John took them with him. All the while, the two dogs and one cat are on a 250-mile walk through the northern Ontario wilderness in which they face many difficulties and dangers.

Astonishingly, I had never read this Canadian classic, nor have I seen the well-known movie. My daughter started reading it, but had only read one chapter when I began. She is an animal lover and hates any kind of violence toward animals, so I advised her not to read it now because the animals do get hurt by bears, porcupine, hunger and exhaustion. I am not at all an animal lover, but I really enjoyed this story. I thought it was written for children, but according to Wikipedia, it wasn't specifically.