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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) ... Read more

Reviews (804)

Exciting novel
Where the Red Fern Grows
In spite of being labeled as a sad sob story, Where the Red Fern Grows is a priceless novel filled with adventure and excitement. I believe that Rawls uses the two dogs Old Dan and Little Ann plus the emotional ending of the novel to attract the female gender. But to the same affect attracts the males with the adventures that these dynamic three undergo. Billy, a young boy, whose had a dream of owning a pair of coon hunting dogs. Works two long years of backbreaking work to finally raising enough money to purchase the two dogs. He embraces the dogs as if they are his children, working with them none stop so that they could become the very best coon-hunting team in Cherokee county. A lot of the time this book is required reading for many middle school students. So I believe Rawls uses this never give up attitude to encourage the young readers. After working so hard and accomplishing many goals with the dogs Billy enters a competition and wins. Thrilled with his accomplishment he ventures to other events. First place after first place Billy and the team seek higher standards. As you read, we follow the threesome on an adventure of a lifetime. Traveling on foot Billy and his two dogs head to the Tournament of tournaments the Coon Hunting Championship. Billy, unknowing of the dangers of the journey, runs into a little trouble on the way. As the book slows down and almost loses readers, this journey to the championship keeps us into it. Fortunately the team arrives in one piece and enters the competition. The team wins but to Billy's surprise the dogs aren't satisfied. Because they still have one coon to get, Shadow, the coon that cannot be caught. Rawl takes us on an adventure, and yet again has you sitting at the edge of your seat.

And So The Adventures Begin
If you are going to read a book to your class, Having your class reading a book, reading a book to yourself, giving a book to a friend or relative, or any thing else, Where The Red Fern Grows ,by Wilson Rawls is the book for you. it is a wonderful and touching story about a boy, Billy, and his dogs. It starts out with a man looking back on his childhood, and how he dreamt of having some fine dog. Finally he got enough money to buy the dogs his heart was set on, and so the adventures begin. This book is very well written. It brings you to the place, time and point if view of Billy and his family, and without being too descriptive or boring. There aren't those chapters which you find in moast descriptive books where all that seems to happen is you know EXACTLY what a certain character looks like. Not only that, it is a real page turner. No matter how much you read you have to know what happens next. With every chapter comes a new adventure! If someone told you that a book about a boy and his dogs catching raccoons would be a page turner, you probably would not believe them, but you are never satisfied to stop after any chapter. Some people find the way that they talk with a southern accent gets in the way, but soon you will get used to it. I think it ads to the atmosphere. You should definitely at least try out this book and when you do, which should be soon, you will find it is a excellent read.

Is there a better story out there?
NO, this has to be the best story I have ever read. I read this book recently to my 7 year old son. Wanting to show him the power of books. I was worried he'd be upset by the ending in this. I shouldn't of worried. I was the one who ended up crying and reading it to him at the same time. As an adult I felt foolish. He wasn't near as upset about it as me and I KNEW what was going to happen since I read it as a child myself. WOW, the power of a book. Simply amazing.

Once upon a time when I was a little girl
I hate it when a reviewer gives the story away, so I won't. Safe to say, though, that when I was a little girl, I read a book in one night, under the covers with a flashlight. That book, of course, was WTRFG. I just re-read it again after 20 some-odd years. I am surprised to find that I cried as hard as I did as when I was 9. I was once again, so engrossed that I read it in one night, ignoring the fact that I had to work the next day. It is a beautiful story, a timeless one. A childhood favorite. I am amazed that it didn't win a Newberry Honor medal, or some other kind of award. This is one of the books that helped instill a loving of reading at an early age. A GEM, don't miss it. A story about a young boy on the brink of manhood and his love for his pups....whom he worked so hard for. You will laugh and cry, at age 9, 29, or 99. Buy it for your kids, and rea it for yourself.

Read This Book!
Wow! this is one of the best book I have written in a long time. If you have not read Where the Red Fern Grows trust me it is the kind of book you will have regeted if you did not read it. Ok well the book is about a boy named Billy that works for his own needs. Billy wants to get 2 dogs that he can train to get racoons. He eventually works for weeks to get the money for his dogs and then gives the money to his grandfather for him to buy the dogs. Old Dan and Little Ann are the names of the two dogs. The exciting advetures that Billy,Old Dan and Little An go through are thrilling and endless. To top it all off the story has a twist at the end. You should definetly read this book to find out whuat happens! ... Read more

Reviews (82)

Monkey Trouble
A boy named Jay Berry Lee, lives with his mom, dad, and his lil sister Daisy.He lives close to his grandma and grandpa.They live in a Cheroket Nation in Oklahoma.His grandpa owns his own store.
Jay was walking outside and all of a sudden,he saw monkeys.His grandpa told him that the monkeys belonged to a circus,and they are really smart.He also said, they are offering a reward,$2 a monkey except they are offering $100 for the smartest monkey.He is the leader and he looks different than the other monkeys.His grandpa gave him some apples and traps so he could catch them.But the big smart ($100) monkey saw the traps and told the other monkeys so they wouldn't be traped.so, he didn't catch any.
Then Jay Berry went back to his grandpa and he gave him a net.Will he catch any monkeys this time?Read the book to see what happens!! THIS IS A VERY GOOD BOOK!!

Summer of the Monkeys a review by Ali
Have you ever wondered what its like to meet a real live monkey. Well Jay Berry Lee got the chance to in this book, Summer on the Monkeys, by Wilson Rawls. For Jay Berry's birthday he got an animal trap. He got this trap from his grandfather so he could go catch the lose circus monkeys and so grandfather could get the reward money.
Also in this book, Jay Berry's little sister, Daisy, tells him that there is an Old Man of the Mountains. She told him that he was technically the leader of the mountains; in other words, he was the supervisor of the mountains. She also said that this Old Man of the Mountains is only visible to the people that believe in him. Daisy says he comes to visit her all the time. Jay Berry is so gullible that he believes there is really an Old Man of the Mountains.
The climax is when Jay Berry finds the monkeys. This was a funny occasion. People have a way of knowing what's going to happen next. That's what I like about this book; knowing something weird is going to happen next. If you really like mystery books, I encourage you to read this book, Summer of the Monkeys.

NOWHERE NEAR WHERE THE RED FERN GROWS
Though this is a coming of age story, it is nowhere near the book that WHERE THE RED FERN GROWS was. Jay Berry Lee resides in Oklahoma circa 1900 when he hears a circus train has crashed, losing 29 monkeys. 28 of the monkeys have a $2 bounty on their heads and one chimp has $100 on his.

Jay Berry dreams of catching the monkeys and buying a pony and a gun. Meanwhile, his sister has a crippled leg and his family cannot afford the medical care to fix it. Hmmm, I wonder how this story is going to turn out?

Though entertaining and fanciful, the story looses some credibility when the monkeys get the boy drunk on moonshine. No, really. I wouldn't make that up.

Everyone lives happily ever after. There is nothing to offend anyone in this book. Not even PETA. The monkeys are ethically treated throughout the novel.

The best book ever
The book Summer of the Monkeys is a book that sometimes can bring a tear to your eye. The author Wilson Rawls likes to do that in his books a lot. This book is about a boy that is fourteen years old. His name is Jay Berry and he lives in the river bottoms. He has a sister that was born with a crippled leg. His sister's name is Daisy. Jay Berry has been saving money for almost his whole entire life for a 22 rifle and a horse. At his grandpa's store, he saw a sign about lost monkeys and it was offering 2 dollars a monkey and a hundred dollars for one monkey called Jimbo. Jay Berry tried everything he could to catch them monkeys but the monkeys kept on tricking him. Read this book to find out if he finally catches the monkeys and gets his dream.
This book will make you laugh and make you cry. It is filled with adventure and excitement. You don't want to miss it! by Josh

Summer of the Monkeys a review by Peter
Have you ever tried to catch a whole bunch of wild monkeys? Well, in the book

Summer of the Monkeys Wilson Rawls the protagonist, Jay Berry, tries to catch a

load of monkeys that escaped from a circus train wreck. Each monkey is worth $2, but

one of the animals that also escaped from the train wreck was not a monkey. The animal

was a chimpanzee that was supposed to be as smart as almost any human, and he was

worth $100!!!

One bright morning Jay was walking down the path to his grandpa's house.

When he got there his grandpa told Jay about the monkeys that had escaped from the circus train

wreck and how much each was worth, but the thing was that the owners wanted the

monkeys unharmed and alive. At first, Jay thought that it would be a quick and easy way

to earn some cash, but he will soon learned how hard it really is to catch monkeys!

Jay went down into the forest thinking he could make friends with the monkeys

However, as he entered the forest, all was completely silent. Then the silence was broken by the

monkeys. As Jay got closer he started to smell something like whiskey. Then Jay saw

them. They were hooting and hollering like a dog chasing a rabbit and drinking sour

mash. When Jay walked up to them the big, hairy, wet chimp offered him a cup of the mash,

but Jay screamed, "NO! NO!" That really did it. The chimp went ballistic. So Jay took the

tiny, round cup and drank it. Then the chimp gave Jay another and another and another

until Jay was so drunk that he fell asleep. When he awoke his perfectly good blue pants

were missing. Now he had to go home with no pants on. What will happen to Jay when he gets

home?
Will this be the end of Jays monkey catching days? Ladies and Gentlemen, I

encourage you to read the book Summer of the Monkeys. ... Read more

Reviews (6)

Where The Red Fern Grow touched my heart!
Where the Red Fern Grows is a beautiful story. The story has excellent descriptions. The Ozarks seem like a beautiful place to live. It just shows how much effort one little boy put in to buy his hunting hounds. The end of the book made me cried. Where the red fern grow is the best book I ever read. I don't think anybody could dislike this book. Wilson Rawls is an excellent author.

Where the Red Fern Grows
This book, like many of my favorites, I first read as a child. It touched me deeply then and I still enjoy reading it now and again as an adult. The author did an amazing job of weaving the characters and story into a very heartwarming lesson of family and gratitude for the people and things in life that make it all worth living. I will purchase this book for my 8 year old son this Christmas and recommend it as a great book to read with your children as a forum for teaching thankfulness and that family is the most precious gift of all.

A book that realy hits home for me
I first read Where The Red Fern Grows when I was 13 years old. I had seen the movie on several occasions, but it wasnt untill the sad death of my own Old Dan that I felt that I just had to read the book. Like the Coleman family, mine was very poor living in the dried up south east Texas oil fields. Many was the time that My only companion was my dog Old Dan. Many was the time that the only activities there were for me to do was going exploring through the woods that surrounded our home for miles and miles. I would find it hard to believe that anyone cant find some part of this story to relate to. Before I read Where The Red Fern Grows, I had never read a book in my life. Not only did I discover a wonderful story that I was almost living out myself, but also I discovered a massive love for reading. All I can say is that you are selling yourself short if you dont read this story. I think I'll go pick up my copy and read it again.

Where The Red Fern Grows
This book about was a great book about how a Boy named Billy "NEEDS" two coon dogs .How he gets them and the adventures that they have together.
I loved this book I could not put it down it is a very good book.
My favorite part is when Billy,Grandpa,Dad,Old Dan, and Little Ann are on the Coon Championship, and the dogs run right through the cam and the men are yelling for them.
I love this book and allways will.

I know where the red fern grows.
In my opinion this is a wonderful book. It shows what a great place the Ozarks are and how great it would be to grow up there. It is a very intereasting book with great uses of imagery, similie, metaphors, and personification. It shows a great love and friendship between a boy and his dogs. Billy never knew when he bought those puppies how much they would help him.
4SAN ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Attention All Dog Lovers
Where the Red Fern Grows, by Wilson Rawls is a story about a boy living in the Ozark Mountains and his desire to have two hound dogs. This longing was complicated by the fact that his family were too poor to buy the dogs. The story that follows is one of adventure and excitement.

I loved this book because of the friendship between the boy and his dogs. When I was reading it I felt like I was the Billy, the main character. I read it in 3 days and then felt sad that it was all over. All dog lovers should read this book.

Wilson Rawls taught me through this book not to give up when circumstances look impossible. ... Read more