LS 5623 Module 1: WHERE THE RED FERN GROWS by Wilson Rawls

Rawls, Wilson. 1961. WHERE THE RED FERN GROWS. New York: Yearling. ISBN 0440412676

Billy has never wanted anything more in his life than a hound dog. No, make that two hound dogs. Living out in the Ozark mountains, he lays in bed at night listening to the bawling of an old coon hound and dreams of the day when he too can traipse through the woods with a dog by his side. Secretly, Billy begins to save money he earns from trapping animals and selling items to the campers nearby. After two years, he finally has enough money to buy not one, but two hound pups from a magazine advertisement.

Although he never asked permission, his parents aren’t upset and everyone in the family takes a shine to Old Dan and Little Ann. The pups soon learn to hunt and track a river coon and come hunting season, the three are out each night catching raccoons. Little Ann and Old Dan have a special bond with Billy, but even more they have a special bond with each other. Together, they are an unstoppable force who trap and kill more raccoons than any hunter in town.

Proud of his grandson and his two hounds, Billy’s grandfather enters the trio in a big time hunting competition. Billy, along with his father and grandfather, travels to the competition and advance night after night until the final hunt. Even a snowstorm on the final night can’t keep the hounds from bawling treed and catching coon after coon. Arriving back home with a winning gold cup, Billy is even more sure that his dogs were heaven sent. Then one day, tragedy strikes while the three friends are out hunting and come across the devil cat of the Ozarks, the mountain lion.

Although WHERE THE RED FERN GROWS was written over fifty years ago, the bond between boy and dog still holds a special place in a young reader’s heart. “While the lifestyle might not be familiar to today’s youth, the ups and downs of growing up and the love of a pet will ring true to all [listeners]” (Braun, 1995). Billy’s character is well written and realistically describes a boy’s desire to own his own dog. Every young child who has dreamed of owning a dog, cat, hamster or fish will relate.

The book does drag on at times and a reader who isn’t 100% invested may lose patience with the slow paced story, but anyone who endures the duller moments will be thankful once they’ve finished the book. WHERE THE RED FERN GROWS is most definitely a classic that withstands the shifts in space and time and will pull at the heartstrings of any animal lover who reads it.


Reference List:
Braun, Linda W. 1995. "Audiovisual review: Recordings." School Library Journal 41, no. 6: 71. Education Research Complete, EBSCOhost (accessed September 19, 2011).