Where the Red Fern Grows, by Wilson Rawls

This novel might be a somewhat difficult read for the sensitive (fair warning!), but all the better to discuss difficult things with children in the controlled environment of a book! We learn from the hero of the story, Billy, the values of loyalty, patience, devotion, and hard work, as well as his persistence and mature handling of difficult situations. There is a somewhat gory description of a boy falling on an ax to be aware of, as well as the tragic (but heroic) demise of Billy's beloved dogs, but all ends as it should, as Billy learns to deal with his grief, and Billy's (and the dogs') hard work ultimately improves the lives of the entire family. 

This story is a page-turner, one that I hate to turn into a scholastic exercise. Sometimes a person just needs to read a book for the pure enjoyment of the thing! In my opinion, this is one of those books. That said, though, there are some things we can learn from this well-written book, and children will benefit from "downloading" about the events in this story, so I've written out some discussion questions for each chapter to "get the ball rolling," so to speak. Teachers may find that the children lead this discussion, though, which is the best possible outcome!

Rabbit Trails

* A good introduction to the literary device known as a "frame," this story begins and (briefly) ends with the narrator's story-telling voice addressing the reader in the present day -- but the bulk of the story is told in past tense, as a flashback. A detailed description of this literary device with further examples can be found here. 

* The specs and history of coon hounds and their use for hunting is drawn out in the Teachers Notes for this novel, but more information can be found here. 

* Little Rabbit Trails for each chapter are discussed in the Teachers' Notes (below).

Downloads

* Teachers' Notes can be found here in Word Doc format.

* Biography of Wilson Rawls here.

* You can download the entire novel from Internet Archive, here.