Where the Red Fern Grows

By: Wilson Rawls

Narrated by: Anthony Heald

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

©1961 Woodrow Wilson Rawls; (P)1995 Random House, Inc., Listening Library, an Imprint of the Random House Audio Publishing Group

Critic reviews

Praise for Where the Red Fern Grows

A Top 100 Children’s Novel, School Library Journal
A Must-Read for Kids 9 to 14, NPR
A Great American Read's Selection (PBS)
Winner of Multiple State Awards
Over 14 million copies in print!

“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

“A rewarding book . . . [with] careful, precise observation, all of it rightly phrased....Very touching.” —The New York Times Book Review

“A book of unadorned naturalness.” —Kirkus Reviews

“An exciting tale of love and adventure you’ll never forget.” —School Library Journal
“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

Good story for the whole family

We all enjoyed the plot- ages 6 to 54!
The perspective of a young boy gives an adventurous feel to simple life lessons of love and persistence.

11 - year old reviewer

Would you consider the audio edition of Where the Red Fern Grows to be better than the print version?

No, I think they're both really good. I liked the narrator.

What did you like best about this story?

I best like the part where Billy cut two little holes in his gunny sack for his two pups to poke their heads through.

What does Anthony Heald bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Anthony Heald reads with a lot of passion, so at the ending it was sadder then if I were to have read the book.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

What moved me in the book most, was when little Anne lost her will to live and died by Old Dan.

Any additional comments?

This book is very moving and I almost cried at the end. It was beautiful and sad, but also happy. I would recommend this book.

OLD-TYMEY REALISTIC VIOLENCE

Yes, this is a wonderful slice of old-time family life. All the family values are there. Even religion, and that is beautiful, especially as spoken by the father. I love the way parents and grandparents are respected, and they actually come up with good solutions and wisdom to apply to the situation. There are so many sweet touches in the story, like when the boy is served coffee for the first time, without comment from the men.

As a town girl and wildlife rehabilitator-volunteer, I winced to hear about killing coons. I have bottle-fed baby raccoons and tolerated the antics of older coons when they are being fed and their home cleaned. Likewise, I almost cried for the big tree that "had" to be cut down. I saw no sense to that! Same with the boy's attitude toward the predator mountain lion, i.e., the only good one is a dead one! So if I had kids or grandkids listening to this story, I think we would be talking about changed attitudes since it was written.

So the story had to end somehow, but I am adding my own ending: Papa found a good job in town; the kids settled in at the school; Billy took up maybe a paper route; and Mama gave them a baby brother!

Anthony Heald deserves 8 stars for his narration. His tempo is quite fast when the action is intense. He can switch his voice wonderfully to narrate conversations. A usually slow reader would surely enjoy following along with the book.

My favorite book

My favorite book. Great to listen to in the car and on long trips. I enjoyed it.:)

beautiful story of love and loss and moving on

I knew going into this book that it was sad. I remember my siblings reading it as adolescents, and thinking, "why would I ever want to read that book?" Now, some 40 years later, I listened to the audio version and fully understand the beauty of Rawls' work and I think, "everyone should read this book!" The reader is amazing,and the story universal. the description of the Ozarks makes me want to visit.