Critical Reception in Reviews
Initial Commentary-
Although Where the Red Fern Grows showed enough literary merit to run as a three part serial in The Saturday Evening Post, and then to become a published novel through Doubleday, the work's early days did not see many accolades from professional reviewers. In fact, in its early days of publication Where the Red Fern Grows went so unnoticed that if an early review of the work exists, it is buried so deep that even the most savvy information professionals cannot locate it. That isn't to say that the work wasn't regarded warmly by those who did encounter it; it just seemed that its target market audience needed shifting for the work's true value to be noticed.
And shift it did, when Wilson Rawls accepted an offer to speak at a children's book conference at University of Utah in 1967 or 1968. The audience, mostly comprised of teachers, was so impressed with Rawls' words on his novel and children's books in general, that many of them read Where the Red Fern Grows and urged their students to do the same, if not making the book part of their classroom curriculum. Nearly out of print by this time, Where the Red Fern Grows experienced a swift upturn in sales due to the widespread appreciation by teachers and students alike. The book sold so dramatically well, that within a decade it was turned into a motion picture which Rawls himself narrated. From this turn of fate came an onslaught of awards and reviews dating from the movie's release in 1974 until the present day.
Awards Won-
Evansville Book Award, Division III
Evansville-Vanderburgh School Corporation, 1974
Michigan Young Readers Award, Division II
Michigan Council of Teachers of English, 1980
Children’s Book Award for the Older Child, North Dakota, 1981
Children’s Book Award, Massachusetts, 1987
Great Stone Face Award, New Hampshire, 1988
Retrospective Reviews-
New York Times Book Review – September ’74 – p.38
School Library Journal – v. 31 September ’84 – p. 48
Parents Magazine – v. 60 June ‘85 – p. 164
School Library Journal – v. 34 April ’88 – p. 43
Booklist – v.88 February 15 ’92 – p. 1101 [1-50]
English Journal – v. 81 April ’92 – p. 89 [251-500]
Booklist – v. 90 April 1 ’94 – p. 11463 [1-50]
Children’s Literature in Education – v. 26 June ’95 – p. 135+ (501+)
School Library Journal – v. 41 June ‘95 – p. 71
School Library Journal – November ’95 – p. 60
New York Times Book Review – v. 102 November 16 ’97 – p.26 [1-50]Booklist – v. 95 '98 – p. 581
Children’s Literature in Review – v. 80 ’02 – p.191 - 198
Retrospective Commentary-
Very few, if any, professional reviews on Where the Red Fern Grows are negative. With overwhelmingly glowing reviews, it is as if, after narrowly escaping going out of print, Where the Red Fern Grows can do no wrong. The book has been acknowledged for its "superb pacing and handling of characters" which makes it a "powerful story." It has been called "beautifully written" and "perhaps the best of its genre," filled with "challenge and adventure" while "capturing the thrill of hunting." Overall, by both acclaimed and novice reviewers alike, it is said to have "careful, precise observation, all of it rightly phrased." [1]
In a very unscientific poll taken on Facebook, many people who remembered reading the book when they were younger either had no strong opinions on it, or had the exact opposite: a very strong, very passionate (positive) opinion that remains with them to this day. In many instances, in both this poll and in many reviews on Goodreads, reading Where the Red Fern Grows in one's youth often exposes them to the delicate issue of death in a very real, very relatable way that has never been touched on in their lives before. Many readers cite tears and say the book either strengthened or created a very special bond with their pets.
However, not all reviews on Goodreads were positive. However, almost every review with less than four out of five stars was written by an adult who either read or re-read the book as an adult. Many cite the book as feeling very outdated with simplistic language and dull scenes and plot. One in particular says that he "does not need a novel to lead [him] through 'what pain is.'" It seems as though the incredible turn of the novel's fate in its re-branding from an adult audience to a young one still holds true; young people simply get more out of this book and appreciate it far more than most adults will. That, perhaps, is why adult readers see the book as primitive and not necessary as part of an adult collection, while young readers and adult readers who read with a young audience in mind find the merit of the story that was not found until almost a decade after its original publication.
Although Where the Red Fern Grows showed enough literary merit to run as a three part serial in The Saturday Evening Post, and then to become a published novel through Doubleday, the work's early days did not see many accolades from professional reviewers. In fact, in its early days of publication Where the Red Fern Grows went so unnoticed that if an early review of the work exists, it is buried so deep that even the most savvy information professionals cannot locate it. That isn't to say that the work wasn't regarded warmly by those who did encounter it; it just seemed that its target market audience needed shifting for the work's true value to be noticed.
And shift it did, when Wilson Rawls accepted an offer to speak at a children's book conference at University of Utah in 1967 or 1968. The audience, mostly comprised of teachers, was so impressed with Rawls' words on his novel and children's books in general, that many of them read Where the Red Fern Grows and urged their students to do the same, if not making the book part of their classroom curriculum. Nearly out of print by this time, Where the Red Fern Grows experienced a swift upturn in sales due to the widespread appreciation by teachers and students alike. The book sold so dramatically well, that within a decade it was turned into a motion picture which Rawls himself narrated. From this turn of fate came an onslaught of awards and reviews dating from the movie's release in 1974 until the present day.
Awards Won-
Evansville Book Award, Division III
Evansville-Vanderburgh School Corporation, 1974
Michigan Young Readers Award, Division II
Michigan Council of Teachers of English, 1980
Children’s Book Award for the Older Child, North Dakota, 1981
Children’s Book Award, Massachusetts, 1987
Great Stone Face Award, New Hampshire, 1988
Retrospective Reviews-
New York Times Book Review – September ’74 – p.38
School Library Journal – v. 31 September ’84 – p. 48
Parents Magazine – v. 60 June ‘85 – p. 164
School Library Journal – v. 34 April ’88 – p. 43
Booklist – v.88 February 15 ’92 – p. 1101 [1-50]
English Journal – v. 81 April ’92 – p. 89 [251-500]
Booklist – v. 90 April 1 ’94 – p. 11463 [1-50]
Children’s Literature in Education – v. 26 June ’95 – p. 135+ (501+)
School Library Journal – v. 41 June ‘95 – p. 71
School Library Journal – November ’95 – p. 60
New York Times Book Review – v. 102 November 16 ’97 – p.26 [1-50]Booklist – v. 95 '98 – p. 581
Children’s Literature in Review – v. 80 ’02 – p.191 - 198
Retrospective Commentary-
Very few, if any, professional reviews on Where the Red Fern Grows are negative. With overwhelmingly glowing reviews, it is as if, after narrowly escaping going out of print, Where the Red Fern Grows can do no wrong. The book has been acknowledged for its "superb pacing and handling of characters" which makes it a "powerful story." It has been called "beautifully written" and "perhaps the best of its genre," filled with "challenge and adventure" while "capturing the thrill of hunting." Overall, by both acclaimed and novice reviewers alike, it is said to have "careful, precise observation, all of it rightly phrased." [1]
In a very unscientific poll taken on Facebook, many people who remembered reading the book when they were younger either had no strong opinions on it, or had the exact opposite: a very strong, very passionate (positive) opinion that remains with them to this day. In many instances, in both this poll and in many reviews on Goodreads, reading Where the Red Fern Grows in one's youth often exposes them to the delicate issue of death in a very real, very relatable way that has never been touched on in their lives before. Many readers cite tears and say the book either strengthened or created a very special bond with their pets.
However, not all reviews on Goodreads were positive. However, almost every review with less than four out of five stars was written by an adult who either read or re-read the book as an adult. Many cite the book as feeling very outdated with simplistic language and dull scenes and plot. One in particular says that he "does not need a novel to lead [him] through 'what pain is.'" It seems as though the incredible turn of the novel's fate in its re-branding from an adult audience to a young one still holds true; young people simply get more out of this book and appreciate it far more than most adults will. That, perhaps, is why adult readers see the book as primitive and not necessary as part of an adult collection, while young readers and adult readers who read with a young audience in mind find the merit of the story that was not found until almost a decade after its original publication.
Sources:
Braun, Linda W. "Review of Where the Red Fern Grows.." School Library Journal 41.6 (June 1995): 71. Rpt. in Children's Literature Review. Ed. Scot Peacock. Vol. 81. Detroit: Gale, 2003.Literature Resource Center. Web. 2 Dec. 2013.
Children’s Book Review Index Master Cumulation 1985-1994 Volume 3: N-Z, Edited by Beverly Baer, Detroit, MI: Gale Research Company.
Children’s Book Review Index Master Cumulation Volume 22 1996, Edited by Beverly Baer.
Children’s Book Review Index Master Cumulation Volume 22 1996, Edited by Beverly Baer.
Children’s Book Review Index Master Cumulation Volume 24 1998, Edited by Beverly Baer & Charles B. Montney.
"Where the Red Fern Grows." Goodreads.com. Web. 2 Dec. 2013. <https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10365.Where_the_Red_Fern_Grows?from_search=true>
"Wilson Rawls (1913-1984)." Children’s Literature Review. Ed. Scot Peacock. Vol. 81. Detroit: Gale, 2003. 191-198. Literature Criticism Online. Gale. University Library,University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. 25 October 2013 <http://galenet.galegroup.com.proxy2.library.illinois.edu/servlet/LitCrit/uiuc_uc/FJ2669950009>
Wilson Rawls." Authors and Artists for Young Adults. Vol. 21. Detroit: Gale, 1997.Biography in Context. Web. 2 Dec. 2013.
Cited:
[1] Authors and Artists for Young Adults
Braun, Linda W. "Review of Where the Red Fern Grows.." School Library Journal 41.6 (June 1995): 71. Rpt. in Children's Literature Review. Ed. Scot Peacock. Vol. 81. Detroit: Gale, 2003.Literature Resource Center. Web. 2 Dec. 2013.
Children’s Book Review Index Master Cumulation 1985-1994 Volume 3: N-Z, Edited by Beverly Baer, Detroit, MI: Gale Research Company.
Children’s Book Review Index Master Cumulation Volume 22 1996, Edited by Beverly Baer.
Children’s Book Review Index Master Cumulation Volume 22 1996, Edited by Beverly Baer.
Children’s Book Review Index Master Cumulation Volume 24 1998, Edited by Beverly Baer & Charles B. Montney.
"Where the Red Fern Grows." Goodreads.com. Web. 2 Dec. 2013. <https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10365.Where_the_Red_Fern_Grows?from_search=true>
"Wilson Rawls (1913-1984)." Children’s Literature Review. Ed. Scot Peacock. Vol. 81. Detroit: Gale, 2003. 191-198. Literature Criticism Online. Gale. University Library,University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. 25 October 2013 <http://galenet.galegroup.com.proxy2.library.illinois.edu/servlet/LitCrit/uiuc_uc/FJ2669950009>
Wilson Rawls." Authors and Artists for Young Adults. Vol. 21. Detroit: Gale, 1997.Biography in Context. Web. 2 Dec. 2013.
Cited:
[1] Authors and Artists for Young Adults
Brittany Staszak
December 4, 2013
LIS 514: History of Children's Literature
December 4, 2013
LIS 514: History of Children's Literature