Where the Red Fern Grows

I’m not sure what it is about certain books that makes me keep going back to read them over and over, but this book is one of those. I first met this book back in elementary school when at some point a teacher read it aloud and then showed us the movie. I’m not really sure why people thought this was a good book for kids considering all the blood, gore, and violence, but whatever- I liked it. Loved it, in fact, and read and re-read it over and over again despite the ending which, to this day, will still get me a little choked up and make me go hug my dog.

In fact, I pretty much have to read the whole book cuddled up next to Old Dog (who turns 13 this week) because the main character’s relationship with his dogs is just as dysfunctional as mine. Billy is one of those people who has an unnatural symbiotic attachment to his canine friends, as do I, so now I relate even more to the story than I did when I was a kid. Just a boy and his dogs, making their way through the big bad woods of the Ozarks… ah, poetic. And then there’s me- just a girl and her dog, making their way through the big bad wilderness of the Pacific Northwest… ok, there’s nothing poetic about my life or about my unhealthy attachment to my dog, but still- those of us who are dog lovers love books like this. The boy is telling us the story, but the heroes are the dogs and we all know it. First the dogs teach him how to be a (miniature) adult- he is only 12 after all, then they give him something to live for, and then when they will get in the way of the better life they’ve helped create for him they do the hero’s thing and step aside for the greater good. Wow, what a story. You can almost hear the inspirational music.

But it’s a book, so no music- but luckily we have an even more epic indicator of our heroes’ awesomeness: the striking visual of a red fern. Ah, there it is, the payoff we’ve been waiting for. Was it all for naught? Will their struggle, suffering, and perseverance pay off? Will it be worth it in the end? Of course it will. Here’s a plant for your trouble. Makes it all good, right?

I should probably be poking fun at this, but I just can’t. This was one of those definitive childhood books for me, so I’m not going to mess with its memory by picking apart the goofiness of it all. It’s a kids’ book, after all, so let’s give it some license. I better just stop and say, if you haven’t read this book, you probably should. It’s no Nobel winner or anything, but you’ll like it. If you don’t, I’m guessing you probably just have no soul. So read, enjoy, and go hug your dog.