BY WILSON RAWLS

Read the beloved classic that captures the powerful bond between man and man’s best friend. This edition also includes a special note to readers from Newbery Medal winner and Printz Honor winner Clare Vanderpool.
 
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.

Where the Red Fern Grows is a 1961 children’s novel by Wilson Rawls about a boy who buys two hunting dogs.^[1] The book is a work of autobiographical fiction based on Rawls’ own childhood in the Ozarks.

Ages 9-12 Grades 3-7

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