I haven't finished reading this book yet, but I like to read sad stories for some reason. Anyway, I really like this book, and before I started it, I thought that it would be kinda weird, and that I wouldn't like it, but from the beginning, it caught me, and now I can't stop reading!
Where the Red Fern Grows
(2005, Fiction - Animals, Written by Wilson Rawls)
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Is it age appropriate?
About our ratings -
Is it any good?
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Common Sense says
Tearjerker about country boy and his hound dogs.
Why We Rated This 
for Ages 9 and Up
The good stuff
What to watch out for
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Violence:
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Sex:
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Language:
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Consumerism:
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Drinking, drugs, & smoking:
What Parents Need to Know
This review of Where the Red Fern Grows was written by Matt Berman
Parents need to know that this book is, in part, about the joys of hunting raccoons. If you don't want your kids reading about hunting, killing, and skinning animals, this isn't for you. It's also one of the great classics of children's literature, and 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+ years.
Families Can Talk About
Talk to your kids about the media in their life. We have more tools and tips that can help
- Families can talk about respect. How do Billy and his father respect raccoons? How does Papa's treatment of Billy change?
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More on Where the Red Fern Grows
Book Summary
Billy is growing up dirt-poor in the Ozarks during the Depression. More than anything he wants a pair of redbone coon hounds. As it is financially out of the question for his parents to buy them, he works and saves for two years to buy them himself, then hikes barefoot sixty miles round-trip over the mountains and through the woods to the nearest town to pick them up. He then spends months training the pups to be the best coon hounds in the hills.
His dreams all come true as he spends every night out hunting in the hills with his dogs, and their fame spreads far and wide. Billy and his dogs are so good that his grandfather enters them in a championship coon hunt against grown men.
Is It Any Good?
Arguably the greatest boy-and-dog story of all time, this is, for many kids, the book that introduces them to the power of literature. No one, adult or child, gets through this book without weeping, usually more than once, yet it never feels manipulative or trite -- it's a good, honest cry. For over four decades, it has remained near the top of the list of kids' favorite books. Who says kids don't love quality?
It reveals a world that has all but vanished today, a rural America where a boy could ramble through the woods and mountains with his dogs all night long, in complete freedom. It also shows what our image of boyhood once was: strong, brave, emotional, honest, gritty, and loyal, Billy is an archetype that, like the world he inhabits, is virtually extinct, except in literature. This exciting, heartbreaking, uplifting book, based on the author's own boyhood, should be a part of everyone's childhood.
Publisher’s Details
Publisher: Delacorte Press, Publication date: 05/30/2005
Number of pages: 212, Price: $5.99 (paperback)
Read Aloud: 9+, Read Alone: 10+
Number of pages: 212, Price: $5.99 (paperback)
Read Aloud: 9+, Read Alone: 10+
Our Members Say
See all 41 member reviews
Most Recent Reviews
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I rate this title on for age 9 and give it
- My highlights are:
- Good role models
Perfect for older kids
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I rate this title iffy for age 13 and give it
- My concerns are:
- Inappropriate language
- My highlights are:
- Educational
I am reading it for my 6th grade class and the book is ok but it is kind of boring. I wouldn't be good for kids under 13.
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I rate this title on for age 9 and give it
- My concerns are:
- Excessive violence
sad book
i read this book a couple years ago and i loved it but i just could not believe how sad it was!!!!! If u don't like books with really sad and heartbreaking endings this is not the book for u.
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I rate this title on for age 10 and give it
- My concerns are:
- Excessive violence
- Inappropriate language
- My highlights are:
- Good role models
Great for 6+ graders
It was a good book but not an excellent one
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I rate this title iffy for age 9 and give it
- My concerns are:
- Excessive violence
- My highlights are:
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