Book Review: Where the Red Fern Grows

What Parents Should Know
This is a book that 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.

Common Sense Media Review
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, and even in this Harry Potter, video game era, 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 still untouched by modern life even in the 1930s, where a boy could ramble through the woods and mountains with his dogs all night long, night after night, in complete freedom, never seeing any sign of man or his artifacts. 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. And even there he's increasingly rare -- he has an intact family with grandparents nearby, and all the adults in the book are wise, kind, and loving, gently guiding Billy into adulthood. This exciting, heartbreaking, uplifting book, based on the author's own boyhood, should be a part of everyone's childhood.

From the Book:
One pup started my way. I held my breath. On he came until I felt a scratchy little foot on mine. The other pup followed. A warm puppy tongue caressed my sore foot.

I heard the stationmaster say, "They already know you."

I knelt down and gathered them in my arms. I buried my face between their wriggling bodies and cried. The stationmaster, sensing something more than just two dogs and a boy, waited in silence.

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