Gipson, Fred

About the author

Fred Gipson (Frederick Benjamin Gipson, 1908–73) wrote one of America’s most famous children’s novels: Old Yeller. Published in 1956 this story of a big yellow dog who worms his way into the affections of a family and proves his worth won the 1957 Newbery Honor Medal, and was made into a film by Disney. Its sequel Savage Sam is about Old Yeller’s son, and Gipson’s horse story, Little Arliss, takes the young brother of the first novel and gives him his own story.

Gipson was born in Texas, where many of his books were set, and worked as a goat driver, labourer and mule skinner before graduating in journalism from the University of Texas. After university he worked as a journalist, before moving on to short stories, and non fiction works.

Finding the book
Easy to find.

Links and sources
Fred Gipson’s papers are at the Harry Ranson Center, University of Texas
Fred Gipson on Wikipedia
Terri Wear: Horse Stories – An Annotated Bibliography


Bibliography (horse books only)


Little Arliss

Harper & Row, New York, 1978, 83 pp, illus Ronald Himler

Sequel to Old Yeller and Savage Sam. Twelve year old Arliss is fed up with being called little. He sets out to prove that size isn’t everything, by catching the outlaw horse Salty.