The Black Fawn by Jim Kjelgaard; (5*)

What a wonderful coming of age story about a 12 year old orphan boy who is literally farmed out to an elderly couple who need help on their farm. When he first comes to the farm, he isn't sure about things, but as he settles in he realizes that "Gram" and Gramps" are just down to earth good folk. One of the first days he is there Gram thinks he needs a break from his work and tells him to go for a walk in the woods. While on his walk he comes across a newborn black fawn. Something in their souls immediately connects and he picks up the fawn and takes him home. Well, that doesn't set with Gramps and he assures the boy, Bud, that the fawn's ma didn't abandon her baby and that she is there somewhere. So the both of them take the fawn back and sure enough, there is the doe. And the doe and fawn walk away into the wood as the boy watches.
As the boy grows up he learns about farming, raising chickens, etc. He learns to hunt and fish with Gramps and he learns that he loves this life. Every so often when he is out in the wood, he will catch a glimpse of the black fawn and in this manner he gets to watch him grow up into a magnificent stag.
I read this book for the first time when I was about 8 years old. It was a Christmas gift to 2 of my brothers and myself and all three of us read it on that snowy Christmas day. One of the brothers is now gone but the other lives in Alaska and he and I mail this book back and forth to each other annually. I highly recommend it to youth and adult alike. It is a beautifully written book and has a purity to it that one doesn't often find in books today. ( )

Bud arrives at the Bennett's farm scared, unsure, and worried for his future. What could this elderly couple want from him, and if he isn't able to work hard enough, will they send him back to the orphanage?

But then Bud stumbles upon a newborn black fawn, apparently motherless like himself, and draws courage for his uncertain future. As the months and years go by, it seems to Bud that whenever he is upset, he sees his black fawn, black stag, and derives peace from knowing it still lives.

This story had a sweetness not typical of other books by this author, and I enjoyed reading about Bud and his relationship with Gram and Gramps, his adoptive family. ( )