Overall Evaluation
When “The Hounds of Youth” was originally published as a three part serial in the Saturday Evening Post in 1961, there was obviously enough interest in the story for it to be published in its entirety as a serial, and obviously someone in the publishing world saw its merit and had it turned into a book format by the title Where the Red Fern Grows that same year. After this initial move to book format, sales were not great and what little reception it had went undocumented; no one thought strongly enough about it either way to publicly review the work, and so it can be assumed that the work was widely seen as mediocre, if it was seen at all. This period of mediocrity is most likely due to its general lack of defined audience, or its mostly being marketed to an adult audience.
A major factor in Where the Red Fern Grows’ initial low enthusiasm and subsequent high enthusiasm was the re-marketing of the book from adult to children. Although written by Rawls as a man reflecting on his childhood, and possibly giving some adults that same nostalgia for their own childhoods or at least a simpler time, the book seems to mainly resonate with children due to its gentle way of exposing them to sad truths about life and love.
The idea to market the story to teachers for the curriculum, and to children for their pleasure, after Rawls spoke about children's books at the University of Utah at a gathering of teachers. With this re-marketing, the book’s popularity exploded, aided by a 1974 Disney film adaptation that was made for and marketed to children. Although book reviews for the work were still rare at this time (the early 1970’s, that is), it can again be assumed that the popularity of the work spiked, as publication demands went up and were met with several publishing houses working on paperback editions of Where the Red Fern Grows in contrast to the older, more expensive hardback copies put out initially by Doubleday in 1961.
Today, Rawls’ work is still beloved by teachers and children, making its way into many mandatory reading lists, being shelved in libraries and schools across the country, and earning many book awards.
While all of the published reviews I found were overwhelmingly positive, I did find a review or two on Goodreads.com that weren’t completely glowing. These reviews seemed to come from adults who had read and loved the book as a child and, upon a reread as an adult, had come to find flaws or a certain lack of believability or preachiness to the story they hadn’t as children. This most likely is the reasoning behind the initial marketing of the book not being so successful.
On the other side of the fence, positive reviews often touched on Where the Red Fern Grows introducing readers to the concept of death in a way they could very much relate to and empathize with. Both male and female children found themselves able to imagine losing a beloved pet and experiencing the grief that came along with it. It allowed girls the ability to partake in a “boy book” adventure, and allowed boys to partake in something usually denied to them: openly expressing their emotions.
Because of the reading level, Where the Red Fern Grows’ powerful message of love, responsibility, growing up, and most importantly, loss, reaches an audience old enough to fully understand and handle it, but young enough that they may not yet have experienced it. The characters and plot are different enough to provide the curiosity to continue reading, but are familiar enough to provide the connection necessary to make a book great and help it withstand the test of time, as Where the Red Fern Grows continues to do.
A major factor in Where the Red Fern Grows’ initial low enthusiasm and subsequent high enthusiasm was the re-marketing of the book from adult to children. Although written by Rawls as a man reflecting on his childhood, and possibly giving some adults that same nostalgia for their own childhoods or at least a simpler time, the book seems to mainly resonate with children due to its gentle way of exposing them to sad truths about life and love.
The idea to market the story to teachers for the curriculum, and to children for their pleasure, after Rawls spoke about children's books at the University of Utah at a gathering of teachers. With this re-marketing, the book’s popularity exploded, aided by a 1974 Disney film adaptation that was made for and marketed to children. Although book reviews for the work were still rare at this time (the early 1970’s, that is), it can again be assumed that the popularity of the work spiked, as publication demands went up and were met with several publishing houses working on paperback editions of Where the Red Fern Grows in contrast to the older, more expensive hardback copies put out initially by Doubleday in 1961.
Today, Rawls’ work is still beloved by teachers and children, making its way into many mandatory reading lists, being shelved in libraries and schools across the country, and earning many book awards.
While all of the published reviews I found were overwhelmingly positive, I did find a review or two on Goodreads.com that weren’t completely glowing. These reviews seemed to come from adults who had read and loved the book as a child and, upon a reread as an adult, had come to find flaws or a certain lack of believability or preachiness to the story they hadn’t as children. This most likely is the reasoning behind the initial marketing of the book not being so successful.
On the other side of the fence, positive reviews often touched on Where the Red Fern Grows introducing readers to the concept of death in a way they could very much relate to and empathize with. Both male and female children found themselves able to imagine losing a beloved pet and experiencing the grief that came along with it. It allowed girls the ability to partake in a “boy book” adventure, and allowed boys to partake in something usually denied to them: openly expressing their emotions.
Because of the reading level, Where the Red Fern Grows’ powerful message of love, responsibility, growing up, and most importantly, loss, reaches an audience old enough to fully understand and handle it, but young enough that they may not yet have experienced it. The characters and plot are different enough to provide the curiosity to continue reading, but are familiar enough to provide the connection necessary to make a book great and help it withstand the test of time, as Where the Red Fern Grows continues to do.
More Information:
“W. Wilson Rawls at the Idaho Falls Public Library.” Idaho Falls Public Library. 1997. Web. 30 Nov. 2013. <http://www.ifpl.org/index.asp?p=rawls/origin>
"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>
"Where the Red Fern Grows." Wikipedia. Web. 30 Nov. 2013. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Where_the_Red_Fern_Grows>
"Wilson Rawls." Wikipedia. Web. 30 Nov. 2013. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilson_Rawls>
"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>
"(Woodrow) Wilson Rawls." Major Authors and Illustrators for Children and Young Adults. Detroit: Gale, 2002. Biography in Context. Web. 30 Nov. 2013.
Originally Published (1961):
Rawls, Wilson. "The Hounds Of Youth." Saturday Evening Post 234.11 (1961): 24-106. Academic Search Premier. Web. 19 Nov. 2013.
Rawls, Wilson. "The Hounds Of Youth." Saturday Evening Post 234.12 (1961): 40-56. Academic Search Premier. Web. 19 Nov. 2013.
Rawls, Wilson. "The Hounds Of Youth." Saturday Evening Post 234.13 (1961): 34-84. Academic Search Premier. Web. 19 Nov. 2013.
"Keeping Posted." Saturday Evening Post 234.13 (1961): 92. Academic Search Premier. Web. 19 Nov. 2013.
Republished with Original Title (1986):
Rawls, Wilson. "The Hounds Of Youth." Saturday Evening Post 258.1 (1986): 68-95. Academic Search Premier. Web. 19 Nov. 2013.
Rawls, Wilson. "THE HOUNDS OF YOUTH (Short Story)." Saturday Evening Post 258.2 (1986): 51-80. Academic Search Premier. Web. 19 Nov. 2013.
Rawls, Wilson. "The Hounds Of Youth." Saturday Evening Post 258.3 (1986): 68-104. Academic Search Premier. Web. 19 Nov. 2013.
“W. Wilson Rawls at the Idaho Falls Public Library.” Idaho Falls Public Library. 1997. Web. 30 Nov. 2013. <http://www.ifpl.org/index.asp?p=rawls/origin>
"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>
"Where the Red Fern Grows." Wikipedia. Web. 30 Nov. 2013. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Where_the_Red_Fern_Grows>
"Wilson Rawls." Wikipedia. Web. 30 Nov. 2013. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilson_Rawls>
"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>
"(Woodrow) Wilson Rawls." Major Authors and Illustrators for Children and Young Adults. Detroit: Gale, 2002. Biography in Context. Web. 30 Nov. 2013.
Originally Published (1961):
Rawls, Wilson. "The Hounds Of Youth." Saturday Evening Post 234.11 (1961): 24-106. Academic Search Premier. Web. 19 Nov. 2013.
Rawls, Wilson. "The Hounds Of Youth." Saturday Evening Post 234.12 (1961): 40-56. Academic Search Premier. Web. 19 Nov. 2013.
Rawls, Wilson. "The Hounds Of Youth." Saturday Evening Post 234.13 (1961): 34-84. Academic Search Premier. Web. 19 Nov. 2013.
"Keeping Posted." Saturday Evening Post 234.13 (1961): 92. Academic Search Premier. Web. 19 Nov. 2013.
Republished with Original Title (1986):
Rawls, Wilson. "The Hounds Of Youth." Saturday Evening Post 258.1 (1986): 68-95. Academic Search Premier. Web. 19 Nov. 2013.
Rawls, Wilson. "THE HOUNDS OF YOUTH (Short Story)." Saturday Evening Post 258.2 (1986): 51-80. Academic Search Premier. Web. 19 Nov. 2013.
Rawls, Wilson. "The Hounds Of Youth." Saturday Evening Post 258.3 (1986): 68-104. Academic Search Premier. Web. 19 Nov. 2013.
Brittany Staszak
December 4, 2013
LIS 514: History of Children's Literature
December 4, 2013
LIS 514: History of Children's Literature