Where The Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls. In the beginning the story starts out as a boy named Bill wanting a pair of coon dogs. His parents could not afford coon dogs so he sold worms to people that came to fish the river near their house. After he saved enough money he bought a pair of coon dogs. He trained them and went hunting during the night. He ends up entering a competition with his dogs and wins $300 and a gold cup. The book is very well written and very descriptive of coon dogs on the hot trail of a racoon. ( )

This book is about a poor houng dog who gets beat up by other dogs and this old man find this dog and he takes him home to feed him and take care of his wounds. Then a boy from Oklahoma is looking for two hounddogs so he can take hunting for coons with his dad so he saves up for two years and then he buys the dog. The dogs end up dieng and the boy visits their graves and in between the graves there is a red fern.

I like the book for a little bit, but it was really sad. I do not like sad books especially if they are about animals dieng. I also think it would be good for upper elementary students to read.

I would have the classroom students read this book and tell a story of any pets that they might have and all the fun places they take their pets.

This was a very sad book. ( )

This is about exactly what the back cover says: a boy and his two dogs. Billy desperately wants two hounds of his own, so for two years he saves his hard-earned money to get them. He experiences some amazing adventures with those dogs, and it seems as if a higher calling is always watching over him. The end is sad, with both hounds dying, although the family gets a new beginning in the city.

I wanted to read this book because I heard it is a classic. But when I found out it was about a boy and his dogs, I wasn’t so enthused. However, when I noticed that I could not put the book down, I realized how great it is and why it is considered a classic! Every obstacle was suspenseful, but turned out good, with help from above…I could have been well satisfied if the WHOLE book were like that, but then the dogs had to die. I know, I know, the more emotion the better the book (usually), but it still would have been great if the dogs lived. I surprisingly loved this book and am glad I read it.

Since this book has been made into a movie, one easy extension could be to watch the movie after reading the book and do a compare/contrast paper on the two. Another extension pertains to the part of the book when Billy is in the city after he gets jumped by a group of boys. The sheriff listens to his story about working hard and saving up enough money for two years to buy the hounds. The sheriff said something like the boys around here don’t know anything about that kind of hard work and determination (already turned the book in back to the library, so I don’t know the exact words). Anyway, the students could write about what they think is more important or better to have: the luxuries of city life (soda, shopping, education, etc.) or the hard work of country life (discipline, determination, inner strength, etc.). They can use the book as reference and write a paper explaining their viewpoint. ( )

This book made me cry; and any book that can do that deserves five stars. ( )