Where the Red Fern Grows

Books | Juvenile Fiction / Classics

4.2

(21.4K)

Wilson Rawls

A beloved classic that captures the powerful bond between man and man’s best friend. Billy has long dreamt of owning not one, but two, dogs. So when he’s finally able to save up enough money for two pups to call his own—Old Dan and Little Ann—he’s ecstatic. It doesn’t matter that times are tough; together they’ll roam the hills of the Ozarks.Soon Billy and his hounds become the finest hunting team in the valley. Stories of their great achievements spread throughout the region, and the combination of Old Dan’s brawn, Little Ann’s brains, and Billy’s sheer will seems unbeatable. But tragedy awaits these determined hunters—now friends—and Billy learns that hope can grow out of despair, and that the seeds of the future can come from the scars of the past. Praise for Where the Red Fern Grows A Top 100 Children’s Novel, School Library Journal's A Fuse #8 ProductionA Must-Read for Kids 9 to 14, NPRWinner of Multiple State AwardsOver 7 million copies in print! “Very touching.” —The New York Times Book Review “One of the great classics of children’s literature . . . Any child who doesn’t get to read this beloved and powerfully emotional book has missed out on an important piece of childhood for the last 40-plus years.” —Common Sense Media “An exciting tale of love and adventure you’ll never forget.” —School Library Journal “A book of unadorned naturalness.” —Kirkus Reviews “Written with so much feeling and sentiment that adults as well as children are drawn [in] with a passion.” —Arizona Daily Star “It’s a story about a young boy and his two hunting dogs and . . . I can’t even go on without getting a little misty.” —The Huffington Post “We tear up just thinking about it.” —Time on the film adaptation

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More Details:

Author

Wilson Rawls

Pages

256

Publisher

Random House Children's Books

Published Date

2011-01-12

ISBN

0307781569 9780307781567

Ratings

Google: 3.5

Community ReviewsSee all

"It’s really good. But very sad. I’ve never cried so much from a book before. You are warned from the start that it’s going to be a sad ending, but still impossible to prepare yourself. "

Sarah Joubert

"The first book to ever make me "ugly cry" and fall in love with reading. "

The Lazy Reader

"INCREDIBLY SAD!!! But still left an impression on my young self as a great read. I was only in like...3rd...4th grade? It was required reading. I just remember feeling like I could actually SEE and SMELL everything that was happening. The smell of wet leaves. The sound of coon dogs barking. The beautiful foliage. I have never read it since so maybe I'm remembering those things wrong but that's what I took away with me. As a kid, I had such an ability to LIVE in what I was reading. That's why the books I read as a young person have stuck with me so much more vividly than they have since my thirties an onward. I still love to read but I lost something precious and I don't know why. This book left a very lasting impression on me. Regardless of the extremely sad content, I still feel a love for it, which isn't like me at all because I HATE sad books and movies!"

Nona Lisa

"I had this book read to me a very long time ago and I wanted to re-read and see the change in how I perceive it. I think what most stood out to me was how different a time Rawls was writing in, you see this with all classics to a certain degree. I was just impacted heavily by this book, this was a book that people wanted to read back in the 60s when it was published. It was published around many ideas that were very prevalent at that point. Some of these include the religious aspects of the time (written during a very Christian America,) the belief in the American Dream (work hard and you'll be rewarded,) and this book has very clear gender roles. (Men have to be strong and protect women, women have to support the men.) It was fascinating to read about these times growing up in the 20th century in radically different ones. Moving on to the actual book I enjoyed it a lot. It simplifies life to the joy of childhood and a beautiful childhood at that. Rawls writes Billy splendidly and you connect with him and his dogs immediately. If I had one critique it would be that this book is pretty fanciful. A lot of the things Billy's dogs do stretch the imagination a little too far, I understand the novel is written like this because it adds excitement and allows religion to be brought in to help when things seem impossible but as someone who personally doesn't believe in God it seems close to silly at times. The characters are wonderful, however, and by the end, I was emotional at the tragic conclusion of the book. This book deserves its place as a classic."

Cole Johnson

"I read this in fourth grade, and it has stayed with me that long. It was the first book that #mademecry #mustread I think all kids should read this!! "

Mychaelia Chandler

"Fantastic book! Classic and sincerely everyone should read!"

Stefani Marie

"I had to read this for class a long time ago but I still remember the story to this day. "

Janell Crawford

"This book was the first to make me cry. I read it years ago at school and to cover my face because I was crying so much. Definitely due for a re read."