Where the Red Fern Grows
by Wilson Rawls
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Book Summary Information
Author: Wilson RawlsBrand: Yearling
Edition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 1996-09-01
ISBN: 0440412676
Number of pages: 208
Publisher: Yearling
Product features:
- ISBN13: 9780440412670
- Condition: New
- Notes: BRAND NEW FROM PUBLISHER! 100% Satisfaction Guarantee. Tracking provided on most orders. Buy with Confidence! Millions of books sold!
Book Reviews of Where the Red Fern Grows
Book Review: NOT a children's book, despite publisher claims.
Summary: 4 Stars
Warning: Spoilers.
One of the things I do in one of the classes I teach is read aloud a book that all of the students can enjoy. A book I chose to read for the class was one almost every middle school kid in the country is familiar with but somehow escaped my detection, and that is the book, Where the Red Fern Grows, written by Wilson Rawls with a lot of help from his wife, Sophia. She was his editor, as he had little formal education and was so embarrassed over his previous writing attempts he destroyed all of his manuscripts, which included this particular story. She encouraged him to rewrite it, and he managed to sell it to the Saturday Evening Post in a series of installments. In 1961 it became a bestselling book and a "classic" of sorts, but I don't remember the book at all growing up. It spawned three movies and continues to be a popular "children's" book. However, the content is such it is totally unsuitable for anybody younger than middle school.
I found the book well written and gripping, but when all is said and done, I was nothing short of appalled by the actions of the main character, Billy Coleman, who was in fact the fictional name of the author. The book is actually based on Rawls' own experiences living in the Ozarks as a child. Since he had no formal education and had to be schooled at home, he found other outlets, such as running around the countryside with his dogs killing raccoons for fun and profit. I know it was around the late 1920s, and the family was poor and all of that, but frankly it was a sick pasttime. However, that's not what I found most appalling about the character.
It was that the kid was a complete and total idiot, totally irresponsible, and as I was reading the book to the students, I became more disgusted. This was before I found out this book was rooted in real experiences, and when I did find out, I was even madder. Rawls always talked about how his reminiscences of his youth were all about "pursuing dreams," and how if people set their minds to it, they, too, can reach their dreams. Perhaps. However, I would like to believe most people achieve their dreams by using their brains, not acting impulsively and involving others without regard as to the consequences.
In the book, the central character, Billy (Rawls), wants a pair of redbone coonhounds, but his parents cannot afford to buy them for him. Well, never mind the parents, for Billy is going to get them regardless. So he works in odd jobs for two years saving enough money to order a pair of puppies by mail. He enlists his grandfather to go behind his parents' backs and gets the dogs. By the time the dogs are on the porch, well, what could the parents do about it? They had to accept the situation and had to feed the animals out of their hard-earned money, too. If Billy felt any guilt over the stunt he pulled, it didn't last long. He decided the animals would be put to work as soon as possible to tree "coons" in order to get the skins and make some money.
Most of the rest of the book we are treated to adventure after adventure of the blood sport of coon hunting. The dogs, Old Dan and Little Ann, prove themselves to be among the best coonhounds in the Ozarks. However, it wasn't all sweetness and light for the trio. During one episode, one of the dogs almost drowns before Billy finally pulls her out of the freezing water. In another episode, a pair of neighbor boys, the Pritchards, goad Billy into a bet about how good his dogs are in treeing coons and challenge him to have his dogs catch a so-called "ghost" coon. Well, that episode ends happily as one of the boys impales himself with an ax and dies. Then, in one of the few bright spots in the book, Billy's dogs win prizes at a local coonhound competition, but in the hunting sequence he almost gets the judge, his dad, and his grandfather killed when an ice storm hits because he is too stupid to call his dogs back when they are too far away from "civilization." And shortly afterwards, this poor excuse for a teenager wanders around in the dark again with his two dogs, only to come across a mountain lion, which mortally injures Old Dan to the point where the dog is disemboweled, but the dog latches onto the mountain lion until the big cat dies. Billy, who actually feels some remorse for his canine friend's situation, carries him home for his parents to sew the dog's guts back into the wound, but sadly the dog dies before the night is over. As for Little Ann, she is so grief-stricken she refuses to eat, and she ends up dying shortly afterwards.
At the end of this truly heartwarming story, Billy buries both dogs on a hillside, and a little red fern grows where the graves are. He doesn't get another dog, which is a good thing, for if it were up to me, he wouldn't be anywhere near an animal again given the outrageous stunts he pulled throughout the book. However, he and his family leave the Ozarks for good in pursuit of other dreams, and that is the end of that.
In the final analysis, the only smart characters in the story were the dogs, but the only stupid thing they did was going after the mountain lion. They should have let the big cat have at it with Billy and eat him up. But we wouldn't have been treated to this book, unless the author made up the incident, and I wouldn't be reviewing it if that were the case.
The four stars are for the dogs, for they were the true heroes of the book.
Summary of Where the Red Fern Grows
Billy, Old Dan and Little Ann -- a Boy and His Two Dogs...A loving threesome, they ranged the dark hills and river bottoms of Cherokee country. Old Dan had the brawn, Little Ann had the brains -- and Billy had the will to train them to be the finest hunting team in the valley. Glory and victory were coming to them, but sadness waited too. And close by was the strange and wonderful power that's only found...
An exciting tale of love and adventure you'll never forget.
From the Paperback edition.
Author Wilson Rawls spent his boyhood much like the character of this book, Billy Colman, roaming the Ozarks of northeastern Oklahoma with his bluetick hound. A straightforward, shoot-from-the-hip storyteller with a searingly honest voice, Rawls is well-loved for this powerful 1961 classic and the award-winning novel Summer of the Monkeys. In Where the Red Fern Grows, Billy and his precious coonhound pups romp relentlessly through the Ozarks, trying to "tree" the elusive raccoon. In time, the inseparable trio wins the coveted gold cup in the annual coon-hunt contest, captures the wily ghost coon, and bravely fights with a mountain lion. When the victory over the mountain lion turns to tragedy, Billy grieves, but learns the beautiful old Native American legend of the sacred red fern that grows over the graves of his dogs. This unforgettable classic belongs on every child's bookshelf. (Ages 9 and up)
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