Beautiful Joe (1893). By: Margaret Marshall Saunders: and By: Hezekiah Butterworth

While the stories in this book won't put you on the edge for excitement, it's a heartwarming account of what were the beginnings of the ASPCA. To the modern reader, it shows how the average person of the times treated "dumb" animals.....most interesting to me was the language used back then. and even at my age (senior) I had to look up a word or two that has fallen out of use. The first thing that struck me was that young folks reading this will be baffled by some of the terms, such as always referring to "dumb" animals, not realizing that once upon a time "dumb" did not mean "stupid" but merely "mute" in that the animals cannot speak for themselves. There are other examples in the book, but suffice to say it's instructive how people spoke back then.

I read this book more than 60 years ago. I never realized the story was real, and told by a woman using a mans pen name. This would be an EXCELLENT movie, as this lady was who formed the Humane Society. The lessons of cruelty need to be learned by everyone.

This story will touch all that hears the story of "Beautiful Joe". I was about 10 yrs. old when my mom read it to me, I am now 56 yo, and I just began reading it to my 10y.o. granddaughter, it still is such a bitter-sweet story that touched my granddaughter's heart as well as mine again 💗

Lovely story but some readers may be offended by archaic references regarding Black characters. Published in 1893.