 | ON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age. |
 | PAUSE: Know your child; some content may not be right for some kids. |
 | OFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age. |
 | NOT FOR KIDS: Not appropriate for kids any age. |
Where the Red Fern Grows
- By Wilson Rawls
- Genre: Animals
Common Sense Media says
Tearjerker about country boy and his hound dogs.
Parents say
QUALITY
Kids say
QUALITY
What parents need to know
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.
What's the story?
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.
What families can talk about
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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AGE
sad but really really really good ;-)
this book is the best and saddest book i have ever read! i cried and cried when old dan and little anne died. but i don't think that this book should be 9+ because of how it describes one little boy's death. it talks about soooooooooo much blood.
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AGE
I Honestly Have No Idea How You Can't Love This Book!
This and LASSIE COME-HOME are the two greatest dog books of all-time, and you would be hard-pressed to find someone who doesn't just love this book.
Violence is the only issue in the book. There are some intense c**n chases, a bloody fight with a bobcat, and the saddest ending of all time, which may affect some younger readers. I believe there is also one "d**n".
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AGE
I LOVED THIS BOOK!!!!!!!!
This book is a heartwarming and emotional book that shows how much the love between a boy and his dogs really is and how much they are willing to doe for each other. AND BE PREPARED TO CRIE!!! For it's a real tear jerker.
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AGE
Good, but not without faults.
This book has a decent story but the writing is sometimes repetitive and some of the scenes are completely pointless. For example, there is a scene in the book wherein we find out that Lil Ann is gunshy. This is never again addressed anywhere in the book. Even later, when they hunt at the championship, the boy's father brings a gun, but there is no mention of Lil Ann being gunshy. Also, I found the metaphors in the book were sometimes quite weak or overused.
The story was strong, and I found it was compelling, but the ending and the justifcation for it was hard to swallow. It felt gratutious.
That said, the protaganist is a decent role model, and truly shows that hard work and passion can get you far.
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AGE
Amazing <3
Amazing book. My sister wanted me to read it. We made a bet to see if I would cry or not. If I cried then I give her a dollar if I don't I give her a dollar. I owe my sister a dollar. :'( I really did cry at the end. It's such a cute and sad book.
~
I don't want to spoil the story but I'll just say the book did say things about blood.
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AGE
5 Stars No Doubt
This one of the best books that you will ever read. You will especially connect to this book if you are an animal lover (I am). This story is heart warming and the way the author wrote this book, you'd think you were actually there!! I reccommend this to anyone who is looking for a gripping read that will entertain you throughout the whole book. Where the Red Fern Grows is one of those books tht you never forget.
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AGE
Sad story
the book was filled with, adventure, peril, contests, fights, and death, This book is not for very young readers.
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AGE
GREAT BOOK
GREAT, im 12, read it, cried a llitle, laughed a little. At the edge of my seat the whole time!!! Recommend it for ALL ages!!
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AGE
Good for Late Elementary School to Early Junior High students
I think that it is a great novel for children over the age of seven who do not have a problem with the concept of hunting.
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| Author: | Wilson Rawls |
| Book type: | Fiction |
| Genre: | Animals |
| Publisher: | Delacorte Press |
| Publication date: | May 30, 2005 |
| Number of pages: | 212 |
| Hardcover price: | $16.95 |
| Paperback price: | $5.99 |
| Publisher's recommended age(s): | 9 - 14 |
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