Where the Red Fern Grows

Wilson Rawls

Jan 2011 · Laurel Leaf

About this ebook

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 Production
A Must-Read for Kids 9 to 14, NPR
Winner of Multiple State Awards
Over 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

Ratings and reviews

In the years of my youth my family moved to Arkansas for my mother to go to nursing school at the College of the Ozarks. My fifth grade teacher read this book to the entire class. I am 48 years old now and have often thought of re-reading this book. I love it. I don't remember crying this much in the fifth grade. What a wonderful story of love, faith and family. Much better the second time, even after all these years.

When I was in the third grade, I was assigned this book to read and write a book report on it. Little did I know how much I would enjoy reading this book. Very few books offer such a glimpse into the life of the main character and his two best friends as Rawls provides with Where the Red Fern Grows. I'm 27, and I STILL enjoy this book to this day. I still laugh at the same parts, and cry at the same parts.

I loved this book, I read it multiple times and once again for school. It influenced the way I viewed writing. Heartbreaking and uplifting plot twists create emotions for Billy, Old Dan and Little Ann as well as his family that ties an emotional bond with them. Reminded me of Hatchet in some ways with the emotional roller coasters; fear, joy, sorrow, incorporated and stirred together to create a book that will remain unforgettable, and one of the few, honest and pure classics.

About the author

Wilson Rawls is the author of the timeless classic Where the Red Fern Grows and the acclaimed novel Summer of the Monkeys. He was born on a small farm in the Ozark Mountains and spent much of his boyhood roaming northeastern Oklahoma with his only companion, an old bluetick hound.
   Since its publication more than fifty years ago, Where the Red Fern Grows has assumed the status of a classic and has been made into a widely acclaimed motion picture. Rawls' second novel, Summer of the Monkeys, received rave reviews and won the prestigious California Young Reader Medal Award, among other accolades.