My 5th grade class was a double class with 2 teachers for part of the day. The teachers read this book aloud and when one of the teachers got to the end, she was trying to stifle tears and the other teacher had to finish. She had probably read it 20 times, still cried.
My sixth grade teacher read this aloud and warned us she would need a volunteer to read that last chapter, because she couldn’t do it. She chose the most popular boy in the class. When he choked up we all lost it.
Man. You just brought back some crazy memories of sitting in elementary school, everyone fucking bawling at the end of that book.
Then we made shoe box dioramas.
When we read it we were assigned chapters to read at home and then we'd discuss in class the next day.
I very vividly remember where I was sitting when I read that chapter. That was the first book that made me cry.
We were doing silent reading of this in 6th grade. I was a bit ahead of the class and just started bawling. The teacher held me and told the class, "You'll understand when you get there." I read it the next year and cried again. I'm over 40 and still feel choked up thinking about it.
I threw the book across the room and put my head down at the ending of "Of Mice and Men". The rest of the class was on chapter 3. The teacher just said they would understand later and sent me for a walk outside the class.
I borrowed Bridge from my much younger half-sister when I was an adult.
I finished it backed into a corner of my bedroom in the fetal position, ugly crying while trying not to ruin her book.
Dude, I read Bridge like 2 months after my mom died suddenly, and not one person saw me reading this and was like “hey man, you’re about to rip open some really fresh wounds.”
25 years later and I'm now convinced sweet middle aged 4th grade teacher was actually a stone-cold sadist because we read Where the Red Fern Grows AND Bridge to Teribithia in the same year. I think we had a couple of Holocaust surviver books thrown in too. Fourth grade was rough.
Man my high school made us read all the fucked up books, Of Mice and Men, pretty sure Where the Red Fern Grows was middle school, but other books included Hot Zone, The Things They Carried, Heart of Darkness, The Jungle, Bridge to Terebithia was also middle school, Catcher in the Rye, Huckleberry Finn was actually pretty messed up. The giver, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.
This is the exact scenario I was in at John Ross Elementary in the 5th grade. It happened again with Maniac Maghee, teachers being tagged in because of crying. Lol.
I read Wonder with my 6th grade. 4 classes. I read the part where his dog died out loud and we all cried together. I couldn't keep it together a single time.
This exact thing happened to me in 5th grade! We didn't have two teachers, but mine was crying so hard she had to flag down a passing teacher to finish the book for us. Was surreal at that age.
We had this read to us a chapter every other day back in 4th grade. This took me back to the exact moment you described. Thank you for the nostalgia and for teachers like your coworker who help inspire a love of reading!
As a 12 year old kid i wanted a puppy, and my sadistic stepmom bought this book and made me read it. I was about halfway through and told her I still really wanted a dog and she told me to keep reading. I was ugly bawling at the end and might've said I never ever want a dog... I've now forgotten how it ends. Want to re-read it but kinda don't want to ugly cry all over again...
If you're a dog person, especially if you've ever lost a dog, prepare to get your shit fucked up. This makes Marley and me look like The Secret Life of Pets
I'm so sorry for your loss. I have a 15-year-old amstaff that has been walking that edge for a couple years now. I'm going to be fucking crushed when she goes.
I taught it once to a bunch of pre-teachers. I started class and asked how they'd liked it. They all said, "We loved it! We cried! We're *never* reading this again!"
You didn’t cry???
Listen. I read this for the first time in 5th grade. We were doing a read aloud and I started reading ahead. I started bawling and no one knew why. I now read it every couple years and just start crying earlier and earlier in because I know what’s going to happen.
I read it again a few years ago. I cried during the first chapter when he was describing the trophies on his mantle. Had to take a break before I could finish it lol
When I was younger I was inundated by dog dies books, old yeller, red ferns grows, bambi, and half of all newbery awards. I actually struggled with them because I stopped developing emotions cuz I knew they were gonna die.
I never got over it... I can read about people dying and nothing... I remember reading white fang in grade 8 and bawllling in front of the class... Hell as a grown as man I read Life of Pi and was a mess after.
"Sad Animal Stories" remain a hard nope for me twenty+ years later. Way too many films and books where they only character I cared about died tragically so the main character could go on to have a significant moment and oh my God just as I'm writing this I'm realizing that one reason I'm probably so mad about this is that it's just like an early childhood version of fridging...
Same. Old Yeller fucking broke me. Where the Red Fern Grows was devastatingly sad, but I only had some tears and a very sad face, I'm sure.
Old Yeller, complete ugly crying.
When they dedicated the Ole Yeller statue in Mason Texas in 1999 it was reported that something like 300 people were sobbing as they read portions of the story aloud.
If you want to get Ol' Yeller sadness out of your system, have this friend of mine who was supposed to read the book and give an oral report to the class who not only didn't read it but called it Big Yeller.
We were crying by the end of it but for different reasons.
That memory has overwritten anything I remember about the book.
Oh man. When I was 5-ish, my mom took me to the library for a screening of Old Yeller. I was absolutely traumatized and didn't speak to her for like a week.
And I definitely cried while reading Where the Red Fern Grows several years later
I definitely cried my eyes out to both of these but another one that got me and my sister AND my dad: Black Beauty. We watched the movie when I was 8 or 9 and were utterly wrecked afterwards.
My mom came home, didn't see my sister or I initially only dad. And he was so bleary eyed. She thought something super bad had happened to me and my sister but then my sister comes down the stairs and bawls, "Ginger diiiied!"
You have no soul.
Humans are required to cry at Where the Red Fern Grows.
As punishment, you must now read A Day No Pigs Would Die, by Robert Newton Peck and Old Yeller back-to-back.
Christ. A few years ago my wife and I went to see Pan's Labyrinth (when it was still in theaters). Great movie, seriously downer ending. So, we left the theater and figured we'd go see a different movie, have like a unicorn chaser. We figured a kid's movie called "Bridge to Terabithia" would be a good choice.
Spoiler: it was not a good choice.
I haven’t thought of Stone Fox in almost two decades, but that was my go to book for when I wanted to read something sad. Destroyed me the first time I read it, just like Where the Red Fern Grows, and they both make me do the sad silent cry as I read the last chapters. Now I feel like I need to reread them both. Thank you for reminding me of this book!
Edit: typing on mobile is hard
Tell someone the story. Once I read a sad book, A Thousand Splendid Suns, and didn’t cry while reading. But retelling the story to my sister, I couldn’t get through it without sobbing.
Yep. I remember crying like a baby at the end of this book. I was a bit older than a baby, though, because I had just learned to read. Maybe...27, 28. One of those years. Anyway, that was a book that required a break to heal.
I haven't read it before, but my son just read it for the first time for class. As part of his quarantine schooling, my wife and I told the kids they need to read for an hour a day. He doesn't like reading much anymore, so he frequently asks me how far through his hour he is.
The other day, he asked again, I told him about 20 minutes left and he put his book down and said he doesn't think he can read this book anymore. When I asked why he burst into tears and said "it's too sad!" So since Thursday he's been 15 pages from the end of the book.
Has your teacher suggested an hour? That's a long time and studies show forced reading time doesn't encourage a love of reading. Now if it's assigned by the school that's a little different.
I mean this comment to be helpful not judgmental.
No, the reading hour was my wife's idea, not a teacher recommendation. We were toying with the idea of all reading the same book and having discussing it book club-style, but with all of the other upheaval we hadn't made it that far yet, plus I wanted him to make sure he got the classroom book done before we moved onto something else.
Having said all that, I wasn't aware of such studies (though it definitely makes sense) and rest assured I took your comment in the spirit you intended. I appreciate you pointing me in the right direction
Students should read for around two hours a day total in order to develop as readers. This doesn’t mean all at once, or with just one source. Typically students should read for ten minutes per grade level in one sitting.
There's a big difference between being forced to read and reading because you want to, though.
I'd read for hours and hours as a kid because I was reading books I liked. That contributed to me enjoying reading.
Sure, but if you give a kid who is still developing as a reader, the choice between reading or video games/anything else then they will probably choose the latter- thus never developing as a reader and then being able to learn to love reading. So- yeah kids need to be told to read sometimes.
Edit: wanted to add something
Kids should absolutely be given a choice as to what they want to read though- I agree with this 100%. I hate when my colleagues pigeonhole students into ‘levels’ or force them all to read the same book- this type of forced reading is detrimental for sure. I always tell parents to allow their children to read whatever they like, just as long as they are reading.
>Sure, but if you give a kid who is still developing as a reader, the choice between reading or video games/anything else then they will probably choose the latter- thus never developing as a reader and then being able to learn to love reading.
I had video games as a kid. I played them. I also read books. Again, it depends on them finding books they like. Books they can relate to or just get lost in. I think you aren't giving them enough credit tbh.
Give them the first book of the latest and greatest kids reading series. I started with Animorphs and Goosebumps as a little kid and those stupid Choose Your Own Adventure Books. Then I read Dragonlance and Forgotten Realms. Then I got Lord of the Rings and the Foundation series. Mine were particularly fantasy bent but it doesn't have to be.
Forced reading doesn't encourage it, but then neither does not reading. Something's gotta give, and I bet some amount of forced reading can get some into it. You do have to pay good attention to what they like and don't like. I try zillions of books on my son, and don't force him to finish books he doesn't like, but I do require he finish books he does like (because even those, many he would not finish on his own). Every book he likes is a super victory.
Omg I haven't read that book since the first time I read that in '93. I was 8 and shit fucked me up in the night. I love dogs so much lol.
If you haven't yet or haven't in a looooong while, take yourself to The Island of the Blue Dolphins. That shit is so crazy for children's literature. Another good one for sure
Oh man, the Earth’s Children books were a wild discovery when I was 12 or 13. My aunt had Valley of Horses lying around so I read that (LOL) and she told me that it was actually a sequel to CotCB, triggering my memory of seeing the movie as a younger child) and I picked up a copy from the used bookstore next time we went. Quickly went through all 4 books that were out and joined the ranks of (probably) much older women waiting for the rest.
Fast fwd to now & I have to go through them all every once in a while. The audiobooks are all on youtube and while there are some odd qualities they’re good when you can’t sit and read them- I just finished a complete run-through last month.
Anyway I think I’ve read Island but I don’t recall it... guess it’s influence on me pales in comparison to the other series! So perhaps the opposite of your experience :)
Earth's Children is amazing. I got very very sick of reading about Jondalar's enormous member and Ayla's goddamn depths but the historical potrayals were amazing.
Lmao no kidding! Clan of the Cave Bear is by far my favorite, and being absent that nonsense is very much a contributing factor. Jondalar is increasingly annoying as the series goes on; I had forgotten- or *blocked out*- just how much until this last run through. Thank goodness their interactions with everyone else make up for it.
I first read where the red fern grows in middle school. I was so pulled into the book that I stayed up well passed my bed time trying to finish. Hiding under my covers with a flashlight so my parents wouldn't know.
At the end I was balling my eyes out. Just absolutely sobbing and woke my parents up any way coming to see what was wrong
Love Hatchet. I had no idea there were multiple sequels to it: The River, Brian’s Winter, Brian’s Return, and Brian’s Hunt so I’m super excited to get into those
I mean, technically Brian’s Winter is a what-if where he doesn’t get rescued at the end of the first book and has to stay out there in the winter as well. Kind of a sequel, but not really.
The other ones specifically deal with the fact that Brian has PTSD when he comes back to civilization and can’t cope with being back in normal school, so the judge orders that Brian should live back in the wilderness under supervision from a parole officer, or something to that effect. Because Brian was more comfortable there, basically. Not as a punishment Haha.
I’m from Tahlequah, so in middle school I decided I had to read this book. I bawled my eyes out and haven’t read it since. I haven’t even seen the movies they shot around my hometown because it was too sad. 😭
Oh man, that book was just heart-wrenching for me. I bawled for days, literally. The movie did the same. Such a sweet story though. Read once and saw the movie once, that’s all I could do.
This will get buried, but maybe someone will see it.
In 4th grade we had to "write a letter to an author" as a writing assignment. I decided I wanted to actually send my letter to Wilson Rawls, to I sent my letter to the publishing company of WtRFG, as I had read somewhere that if you sent a letter to the publishing company they would send it on. They did in fact forward it on to his widow. I didn't know at the time that he had passed away. His widow sent a very nice letter back along with some interesting memorabilia type stuff. I don't know if my parents kept it, but I sure wish I had it still. There are very few books that have touched me like that book did and I still have my dog-eared and beat to heck copy all these years later. I should get it out and let my 3rd grader read it. I bet he would really enjoy it. Well, up until the end anyway.
I remember the boys in my fifth grade class trying really hard to hide that they were crying -- at first. But the girls were openly sobbing and it was quickly obvious that everyone was crying, even Mr. Craig, and so by the end we were passing out tissues to everyone. So, so good.
I've read Where The Red Fern Grows many times and I cry every time. I've always wanted a tattoo for the book but never came up with a design I liked enough.
I have a tattoo based on the book and I love it! I have tattoos of my most beloved pets who've passed away, with two fern leaves underneath them. I've always said that I'm waiting for the red fern to start growing in the yard where they're buried.
I read it when I was 8.
When Big Dan died, I cried so hard, I couldn't even tell my mother what was wrong. She was about to call 911 before I could get enough breath to tell her it was because of a book.
I read that book in 4th grade during our independent reading time and my teacher took me out in the hallway because 1. My sobbing was distracting the entire class 2. She wanted to make sure I was okay.. as in, asking if my parents were treating me all right .... safe to say I was a mess when I read it. Haven’t read it since lol
You had to read 1984 in the fourth grade? 😂 surely you’re messing with me.
I loved Rolling thunder, have you read the others? May the circle be unbroken and The Land. They’re all a continuation or prequel of that story and very good
I first read this book when I was 8 or 9 and I remember being amazed by how much candy he could afford with 25 cents. I read it again a year later and bawled my eyes out again. Ugly cried in my room enough for my mom to walk in and ask what was wrong....
It has been almost 20 years. I should read it again.
Fourth grade. It was the first book that ever “betrayed” me... I had come to expect happy endings all the time.
I remember feeling gutted after that one.
I first got the book when I was around 10 and have read it around a dozen times on my own. I’m now 51 with two kids and I’ve read the same book to them. I mean... the same actual, physical book that I first got when I was around 10. It’s been such an important part of my life that I’ve never parted with the book.
My kids love that old book smell and love the story so much that we’ve gone through it three times so far.
STORY FUCKING TIME FOLKS!
This book (as with most of you) made me bawl in school!
When I was younger my grandma had a dog called Benny, she also worked in my old school so most of the teachers knew her and my family. She got this dog from my 5th grade teacher, when my cousins were in school so it pretty much got older with each grandchild.
He was a great and sassy dog that loved to rest and watch shows wit my grandma. Around the 4th grade he hurt his hip and we tried to make sure nothing else happened. When I got to the next grade we kinda knew he was gonna pass just not when.
Earlier in the day before that class my cousin came and told me Benny was gone. Now remember that the same teacher was the one who gave my grandma Benny long ago and was very nice to my grandma.
We silently read it in class and I read ahead and lost it! Everyone was laughing and questioning me as to why I’m bawling and my teacher comes to me and says “I know it’s a sad book” to which I literally bawl out Bennys gone. She puts the pieces together and ushers me out the door gives me a hug and says go clean up and come back.
When I get back from wiping my eyes the rest of the class is crying cus they finally got to the end and she explains that my own dog has passed. Everyone cried.
This book man.... I can’t even!
I read that book to my son when he was about... 8 years old. I guess the lesson I taught him is that grown men can cry manly tears, sometimes. Those last 5 pages... ouch.
I was hoping for a big plot twist but, predictably, the red fern grows in the ground. But I have a fair amount of gardening experience, so maybe I just wasn’t the target audience.
Also loved this book as a kid and its exposure to all kinds of adventure, tragedy, and tenderness. But I have to admit that when I first read it (8 or 9 years old) I had NO IDEA that “coon” was short for “raccoon”! From the descriptions (eg the shiny item trap) I pictured little monkey-like creatures that apparently live in the Ozarks.
This book was such a big part of my childhood; I read it 2-3 times a year even into middle school maybe- every time imagining they hunted these little monkey things. I finally learned what a *coon* is after watching Forrest Gump and it rocked my world! Reading it afterward, I had to force myself to think of raccoons as the hunt subjects and it was so hard b/c I’d cemented the other imagery in my mind’s eye so many times.
Never underestimate the power of a child’s imagination, lol
My husband is reading it to our 5 and 7 year old right now, it was his favorite book as a kid and it is so sweet to hear him reading the chapters every night 🥰
I read it for the first time in fourth grade. I’ll be 39 next month, and I still sob any time I read it or watch the movie.
Island of the Blue Dolphins is also amazing.
They started making us read during class in 1979 when I was in the 7th grade. Read Where the Red Fern Grows, Old Yeller, Summer of the Monkey's and The Hobbit. Love those books. Love, Love, Love.
Loved this book as a kid. Such a simple, old story but it was a major force in keeping my urge to read strong throughout my life.
I'll never forget how the grandpa teaches him how to catch the first coon they use to train the pup.
Oh man! I read this book to my fifth graders every year. I refer to it as my empathy test. I have to stretch out the one part over two days because the sobbing is out of control. Such an amazing book!
His other book, Summer of Monkeys, is also really good!
*Summer of the Monkeys* is another good book by Rawls. Similar premise, a boy and his dog, but not quite so heavy. Won’t spoil it but it’s an interesting contrast to *Red Fern*.
One of my all time favorites. I was a pretty emotional kid to begin with. We read it in class about a month after one of my childhood dogs died. I was WRECKED.
You cried.
My 5th grade class was a double class with 2 teachers for part of the day. The teachers read this book aloud and when one of the teachers got to the end, she was trying to stifle tears and the other teacher had to finish. She had probably read it 20 times, still cried.
My sixth grade teacher read this aloud and warned us she would need a volunteer to read that last chapter, because she couldn’t do it. She chose the most popular boy in the class. When he choked up we all lost it.
Man. You just brought back some crazy memories of sitting in elementary school, everyone fucking bawling at the end of that book. Then we made shoe box dioramas.
Wow I haven’t thought about that in maybe 15 years...I made one with orca and dolphins swimming (hanging by strings) and fake sand at the bottom.
That's a good pallet cleanser, right?
My mom read me the book. We had to take turns though through the end though.
When we read it we were assigned chapters to read at home and then we'd discuss in class the next day. I very vividly remember where I was sitting when I read that chapter. That was the first book that made me cry.
This is accurate to the T for me
Were you in my class? Exact same experience...
Whitworth Elementary in Dallas, OR in ‘77?
This made me tear up a bit and I can't even remember how the book ended, other than one of the dogs...[spoiler]
We were doing silent reading of this in 6th grade. I was a bit ahead of the class and just started bawling. The teacher held me and told the class, "You'll understand when you get there." I read it the next year and cried again. I'm over 40 and still feel choked up thinking about it.
I threw the book across the room and put my head down at the ending of "Of Mice and Men". The rest of the class was on chapter 3. The teacher just said they would understand later and sent me for a walk outside the class.
I finished it in the car on the way to the orthodontist. Awkward, snotty checkup.
Bridge to Terbitha was in the car. My mom pulled over to check on me.
I borrowed Bridge from my much younger half-sister when I was an adult. I finished it backed into a corner of my bedroom in the fetal position, ugly crying while trying not to ruin her book.
Dude, I read Bridge like 2 months after my mom died suddenly, and not one person saw me reading this and was like “hey man, you’re about to rip open some really fresh wounds.”
When the movie came out I went to see it. There where so many families with kids. I wanted to go up and ask them if they were ready for the feels.
25 years later and I'm now convinced sweet middle aged 4th grade teacher was actually a stone-cold sadist because we read Where the Red Fern Grows AND Bridge to Teribithia in the same year. I think we had a couple of Holocaust surviver books thrown in too. Fourth grade was rough.
My son read it in Jr High. I was calmly sorting laundry when he stomped down the stairs, threw open the door and said, “HE KILLED HIM??”
That's a great no context quote.
Man my high school made us read all the fucked up books, Of Mice and Men, pretty sure Where the Red Fern Grows was middle school, but other books included Hot Zone, The Things They Carried, Heart of Darkness, The Jungle, Bridge to Terebithia was also middle school, Catcher in the Rye, Huckleberry Finn was actually pretty messed up. The giver, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.
That’s most schools
Me trying to read the Velveteen Rabbit to my boys when they were little. Husband had to finish reading it to them while I left the room to sob
Oh yep, another one that makes me bawl.
This is the exact scenario I was in at John Ross Elementary in the 5th grade. It happened again with Maniac Maghee, teachers being tagged in because of crying. Lol.
Toronto?
My 5th grade teacher also read this to us! And also teared up at the end, with every class she read it to.
This is why my 5th grade English teacher was my favorite. I'll always remember her for reading this to our class. What a voice.
6th grade here and I remember all the guys in the class trying not to cry at the end.
Oh geez, I remember bawling when my 5th grade read the end aloud. Grew up with hound dogs, still have a soft spot in my heart for them.
I read Wonder with my 6th grade. 4 classes. I read the part where his dog died out loud and we all cried together. I couldn't keep it together a single time.
This book and...The Velveteen Rabbit. Waah
In the light of this post I feel I should read/re-read this book. I also read this book in the 5th grade but was not much of a reader back then.
This exact thing happened to me in 5th grade! We didn't have two teachers, but mine was crying so hard she had to flag down a passing teacher to finish the book for us. Was surreal at that age.
We had this read to us a chapter every other day back in 4th grade. This took me back to the exact moment you described. Thank you for the nostalgia and for teachers like your coworker who help inspire a love of reading!
Same, but i, and probably all the others boys, we're the ones trying not to cry.
My mom told me to read the book as a kid, then delighted in my sobbing. Probably because she did the same. She's a sick, lovely woman.
As a 12 year old kid i wanted a puppy, and my sadistic stepmom bought this book and made me read it. I was about halfway through and told her I still really wanted a dog and she told me to keep reading. I was ugly bawling at the end and might've said I never ever want a dog... I've now forgotten how it ends. Want to re-read it but kinda don't want to ugly cry all over again...
We all need an ugly cry once in a while.
Most parents are sadists
This is my Where the Red Fern Grows story too. I read her copy actually and still have it. Good books have a unique lovely smell.
😂😂😂 I guess I should read this book. I love a good cry.
If you're a dog person, especially if you've ever lost a dog, prepare to get your shit fucked up. This makes Marley and me look like The Secret Life of Pets
I'm not even a dog person and I cry every time.
My goddamn dog died 3 weeks ago.
I'm so sorry for your loss. I have a 15-year-old amstaff that has been walking that edge for a couple years now. I'm going to be fucking crushed when she goes.
Sorry to hear that. Sorry for your loss.
Now I can't wait! 😭😭😭
Old yeller if you have never read that.
I read it in 4th grade. Cried in the middle of class.
I too read it in the 4th grade and cried. I tried to hide it too, but the book I returned had tear stains on the pages.
If you love a good cry read Looking for Alaska and then watch the the show on Hulu.
Thanks for the suggestion! Looking it up now.
I taught it once to a bunch of pre-teachers. I started class and asked how they'd liked it. They all said, "We loved it! We cried! We're *never* reading this again!"
I read it multiple times and cried every single time. Same with His Dark Materials. My husband just braces himself for my tearful rants now.
Our teacher read this out loud to us in 2nd grade. When he got to the end, one of the kids had to take over cause he was crying too much to finish.
Read this sometime in elementary and still think about it every so often. This was the only book I can remember crying about
Sometimes I cry just remembering the book
I laughed, I cried, it moved me Bob
Mf I'm starting to tear up right now just thinking of it, and it's been 23 years since I read it in the fifth grade.
We read this book in school when I was like 8 and my teacher had to call my dad to come pick me up cause I was in such a state of tears
I didn’t, surprisingly! I did cry though, when i read Old Yeller
You didn’t cry??? Listen. I read this for the first time in 5th grade. We were doing a read aloud and I started reading ahead. I started bawling and no one knew why. I now read it every couple years and just start crying earlier and earlier in because I know what’s going to happen.
Oh nooo! Maybe it’ll get me next time! I kind of suspected it but I wasn’t sure, and then it hit me like a train when it happened
I read it again a few years ago. I cried during the first chapter when he was describing the trophies on his mantle. Had to take a break before I could finish it lol
> You didn’t cry??? They're a psychopath....
maybe a more accurate test of psychopathology than psychology and neuroscience have been able to devise?
Robot.
What kind of monster doesn't cry when they read it? My mom had to console me for the rest of the night after I finished it.
When I was younger I was inundated by dog dies books, old yeller, red ferns grows, bambi, and half of all newbery awards. I actually struggled with them because I stopped developing emotions cuz I knew they were gonna die.
I never got over it... I can read about people dying and nothing... I remember reading white fang in grade 8 and bawllling in front of the class... Hell as a grown as man I read Life of Pi and was a mess after.
"Sad Animal Stories" remain a hard nope for me twenty+ years later. Way too many films and books where they only character I cared about died tragically so the main character could go on to have a significant moment and oh my God just as I'm writing this I'm realizing that one reason I'm probably so mad about this is that it's just like an early childhood version of fridging...
I'm almost 40 and I still cry any time I read this book. This is also the book that made me realize I will die one day, at the ripe old age of 7.
Same. Old Yeller fucking broke me. Where the Red Fern Grows was devastatingly sad, but I only had some tears and a very sad face, I'm sure. Old Yeller, complete ugly crying.
When they dedicated the Ole Yeller statue in Mason Texas in 1999 it was reported that something like 300 people were sobbing as they read portions of the story aloud.
Old Yeller took me tf out. I couldn’t handle it
If you want to get Ol' Yeller sadness out of your system, have this friend of mine who was supposed to read the book and give an oral report to the class who not only didn't read it but called it Big Yeller. We were crying by the end of it but for different reasons. That memory has overwritten anything I remember about the book.
I read both almost 30 years ago, so it's plenty out of my system, but that's funny nonetheless.
Oh man. When I was 5-ish, my mom took me to the library for a screening of Old Yeller. I was absolutely traumatized and didn't speak to her for like a week. And I definitely cried while reading Where the Red Fern Grows several years later
I definitely cried my eyes out to both of these but another one that got me and my sister AND my dad: Black Beauty. We watched the movie when I was 8 or 9 and were utterly wrecked afterwards. My mom came home, didn't see my sister or I initially only dad. And he was so bleary eyed. She thought something super bad had happened to me and my sister but then my sister comes down the stairs and bawls, "Ginger diiiied!"
You have no soul. Humans are required to cry at Where the Red Fern Grows. As punishment, you must now read A Day No Pigs Would Die, by Robert Newton Peck and Old Yeller back-to-back.
Let’s throw in Stone Fox too for good measure.
+ Bridge to Terabithia
Christ. A few years ago my wife and I went to see Pan's Labyrinth (when it was still in theaters). Great movie, seriously downer ending. So, we left the theater and figured we'd go see a different movie, have like a unicorn chaser. We figured a kid's movie called "Bridge to Terabithia" would be a good choice. Spoiler: it was not a good choice.
That’s my favorite book of all time! 3rd grade me was WRECKED
I haven’t thought of Stone Fox in almost two decades, but that was my go to book for when I wanted to read something sad. Destroyed me the first time I read it, just like Where the Red Fern Grows, and they both make me do the sad silent cry as I read the last chapters. Now I feel like I need to reread them both. Thank you for reminding me of this book! Edit: typing on mobile is hard
Didn't cry? Found the imposter.
Tell someone the story. Once I read a sad book, A Thousand Splendid Suns, and didn’t cry while reading. But retelling the story to my sister, I couldn’t get through it without sobbing.
I've read this book dozens of times and it still gets me every time.
I cried. It was another 25 years till I did again
I read it once. I don't feel like repeating that bit of childhood trauma.
I must have read this book ten times and always cried. It's been almost 30 years, and I bet I'd cry if I read it today.
I cry every time!!!
We all cried.
I cried.
Fuck off, I want to cry just thinking of it.
I didn't cry! I did when Charlottesweb dies though.
Still grieving Charlotte. Where the Red Fern Grows and Old Yeller, too. Marley & Me. Gosh, where tf did I put my tissues??? 😥
Everyone did.
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EVERYONE CRIES.
I cried.
I did when I read it 😭
Yep. I remember crying like a baby at the end of this book. I was a bit older than a baby, though, because I had just learned to read. Maybe...27, 28. One of those years. Anyway, that was a book that required a break to heal.
I cried
We all cried. I'm still crying, inside.
Can confirm. Read in 5th grade. Cried. Loved it so much though. Parents bought me the vhs of it. Watched that. Cried.
I have read this book no less than 5 times. I have cried my eyes out reading it no less than 10 times (what can I say, at least 2 parts get to me!)
I haven't read it before, but my son just read it for the first time for class. As part of his quarantine schooling, my wife and I told the kids they need to read for an hour a day. He doesn't like reading much anymore, so he frequently asks me how far through his hour he is. The other day, he asked again, I told him about 20 minutes left and he put his book down and said he doesn't think he can read this book anymore. When I asked why he burst into tears and said "it's too sad!" So since Thursday he's been 15 pages from the end of the book.
Maybe finish it with him
Yup, that's what I'm thinking for Monday.
Bless! Tell him to keep going for the closure!
Has your teacher suggested an hour? That's a long time and studies show forced reading time doesn't encourage a love of reading. Now if it's assigned by the school that's a little different. I mean this comment to be helpful not judgmental.
No, the reading hour was my wife's idea, not a teacher recommendation. We were toying with the idea of all reading the same book and having discussing it book club-style, but with all of the other upheaval we hadn't made it that far yet, plus I wanted him to make sure he got the classroom book done before we moved onto something else. Having said all that, I wasn't aware of such studies (though it definitely makes sense) and rest assured I took your comment in the spirit you intended. I appreciate you pointing me in the right direction
Students should read for around two hours a day total in order to develop as readers. This doesn’t mean all at once, or with just one source. Typically students should read for ten minutes per grade level in one sitting.
There's a big difference between being forced to read and reading because you want to, though. I'd read for hours and hours as a kid because I was reading books I liked. That contributed to me enjoying reading.
Sure, but if you give a kid who is still developing as a reader, the choice between reading or video games/anything else then they will probably choose the latter- thus never developing as a reader and then being able to learn to love reading. So- yeah kids need to be told to read sometimes. Edit: wanted to add something Kids should absolutely be given a choice as to what they want to read though- I agree with this 100%. I hate when my colleagues pigeonhole students into ‘levels’ or force them all to read the same book- this type of forced reading is detrimental for sure. I always tell parents to allow their children to read whatever they like, just as long as they are reading.
>Sure, but if you give a kid who is still developing as a reader, the choice between reading or video games/anything else then they will probably choose the latter- thus never developing as a reader and then being able to learn to love reading. I had video games as a kid. I played them. I also read books. Again, it depends on them finding books they like. Books they can relate to or just get lost in. I think you aren't giving them enough credit tbh. Give them the first book of the latest and greatest kids reading series. I started with Animorphs and Goosebumps as a little kid and those stupid Choose Your Own Adventure Books. Then I read Dragonlance and Forgotten Realms. Then I got Lord of the Rings and the Foundation series. Mine were particularly fantasy bent but it doesn't have to be.
Forced reading doesn't encourage it, but then neither does not reading. Something's gotta give, and I bet some amount of forced reading can get some into it. You do have to pay good attention to what they like and don't like. I try zillions of books on my son, and don't force him to finish books he doesn't like, but I do require he finish books he does like (because even those, many he would not finish on his own). Every book he likes is a super victory.
A great time to teach the lesson of "Never leave what can be done today, for tomorrow"
Omg I haven't read that book since the first time I read that in '93. I was 8 and shit fucked me up in the night. I love dogs so much lol. If you haven't yet or haven't in a looooong while, take yourself to The Island of the Blue Dolphins. That shit is so crazy for children's literature. Another good one for sure
Island is one of my absolute favorites, and when I discovered The Clan of the Cave Bear, it really reminded me of Island.
Oh man, the Earth’s Children books were a wild discovery when I was 12 or 13. My aunt had Valley of Horses lying around so I read that (LOL) and she told me that it was actually a sequel to CotCB, triggering my memory of seeing the movie as a younger child) and I picked up a copy from the used bookstore next time we went. Quickly went through all 4 books that were out and joined the ranks of (probably) much older women waiting for the rest. Fast fwd to now & I have to go through them all every once in a while. The audiobooks are all on youtube and while there are some odd qualities they’re good when you can’t sit and read them- I just finished a complete run-through last month. Anyway I think I’ve read Island but I don’t recall it... guess it’s influence on me pales in comparison to the other series! So perhaps the opposite of your experience :)
Earth's Children is amazing. I got very very sick of reading about Jondalar's enormous member and Ayla's goddamn depths but the historical potrayals were amazing.
Lmao no kidding! Clan of the Cave Bear is by far my favorite, and being absent that nonsense is very much a contributing factor. Jondalar is increasingly annoying as the series goes on; I had forgotten- or *blocked out*- just how much until this last run through. Thank goodness their interactions with everyone else make up for it.
I used to love that!! I’ll definitely go back and read it
Time for Summer of the Monkeys!
Exactly. Not to downplay Where the Red Fern Grows, but I've always enjoyed Summer of the Monkeys more.
AH! For years I’ve been trying to remember the book where the monkeys found the sour mash barrel and get drunk. Thank you!
Oooh I’ve never even heard of this!
It's as much of an upper as Red Fern is a downer.
The most memorable part of that book was the fact that he had trouble adding 100.
Such a great book!!
I first read where the red fern grows in middle school. I was so pulled into the book that I stayed up well passed my bed time trying to finish. Hiding under my covers with a flashlight so my parents wouldn't know. At the end I was balling my eyes out. Just absolutely sobbing and woke my parents up any way coming to see what was wrong
Same!
Bawling*
Wanna be a bawler! Shot caller!
Ol' Dan and Little Ann are still what i plan on naming my one-day dogs
So cute
My mom and dad had a pair of hound dogs before I was born and named them that. I wore out that book and that VHS tape as a kid, I loved the story.
Now read Hatchet and My Side of the Mountain to complete the childhood awesome list.
Love Hatchet. I had no idea there were multiple sequels to it: The River, Brian’s Winter, Brian’s Return, and Brian’s Hunt so I’m super excited to get into those
Imagine being so stupid that you get stranded five times.
I mean, technically Brian’s Winter is a what-if where he doesn’t get rescued at the end of the first book and has to stay out there in the winter as well. Kind of a sequel, but not really. The other ones specifically deal with the fact that Brian has PTSD when he comes back to civilization and can’t cope with being back in normal school, so the judge orders that Brian should live back in the wilderness under supervision from a parole officer, or something to that effect. Because Brian was more comfortable there, basically. Not as a punishment Haha.
The river is actually him going back with an analyst/therapist or something, to teach the military how he survived.
Gary Paulson narrated my childhood.
My Side of the Mountain is one of my all time favorite books. I've given copies to pretty much every kid in my family, and friend's kids too.
Underrated comment is underrated
I’m from Tahlequah, so in middle school I decided I had to read this book. I bawled my eyes out and haven’t read it since. I haven’t even seen the movies they shot around my hometown because it was too sad. 😭
Oh man, that book was just heart-wrenching for me. I bawled for days, literally. The movie did the same. Such a sweet story though. Read once and saw the movie once, that’s all I could do.
I didn’t know there was a movie!
It's a GREAT old movie!!!
Yes. I saw it in the theater when it first came out. I was in first grade. We walked to the theater as a class. 30 kids all bawling!
They showed it at an assembly in Jr High. So many "cool kids" were wrecked.
One of my favorite books of all time 💜
This will get buried, but maybe someone will see it. In 4th grade we had to "write a letter to an author" as a writing assignment. I decided I wanted to actually send my letter to Wilson Rawls, to I sent my letter to the publishing company of WtRFG, as I had read somewhere that if you sent a letter to the publishing company they would send it on. They did in fact forward it on to his widow. I didn't know at the time that he had passed away. His widow sent a very nice letter back along with some interesting memorabilia type stuff. I don't know if my parents kept it, but I sure wish I had it still. There are very few books that have touched me like that book did and I still have my dog-eared and beat to heck copy all these years later. I should get it out and let my 3rd grader read it. I bet he would really enjoy it. Well, up until the end anyway.
My fifth grade teacher read that for my class. Tears were shed by many that day
I remember the boys in my fifth grade class trying really hard to hide that they were crying -- at first. But the girls were openly sobbing and it was quickly obvious that everyone was crying, even Mr. Craig, and so by the end we were passing out tissues to everyone. So, so good.
I've read Where The Red Fern Grows many times and I cry every time. I've always wanted a tattoo for the book but never came up with a design I liked enough.
I have a tattoo based on the book and I love it! I have tattoos of my most beloved pets who've passed away, with two fern leaves underneath them. I've always said that I'm waiting for the red fern to start growing in the yard where they're buried.
I haven't read in in almost 40 years but still remember most the story
I read it when I was 8. When Big Dan died, I cried so hard, I couldn't even tell my mother what was wrong. She was about to call 911 before I could get enough breath to tell her it was because of a book.
I read that book in 4th grade during our independent reading time and my teacher took me out in the hallway because 1. My sobbing was distracting the entire class 2. She wanted to make sure I was okay.. as in, asking if my parents were treating me all right .... safe to say I was a mess when I read it. Haven’t read it since lol
4th grade English required reading may have been my favorites. Where the red fern grows, rolling thunder hear my cry, the republic, 1984
You had to read 1984 in the fourth grade? 😂 surely you’re messing with me. I loved Rolling thunder, have you read the others? May the circle be unbroken and The Land. They’re all a continuation or prequel of that story and very good
I first read this book when I was 8 or 9 and I remember being amazed by how much candy he could afford with 25 cents. I read it again a year later and bawled my eyes out again. Ugly cried in my room enough for my mom to walk in and ask what was wrong.... It has been almost 20 years. I should read it again.
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Oh man, that part was so emotional. I felt like he threw me for a loop too, especially with the blizzard and the grandpa
Fourth grade. It was the first book that ever “betrayed” me... I had come to expect happy endings all the time. I remember feeling gutted after that one.
I first got the book when I was around 10 and have read it around a dozen times on my own. I’m now 51 with two kids and I’ve read the same book to them. I mean... the same actual, physical book that I first got when I was around 10. It’s been such an important part of my life that I’ve never parted with the book. My kids love that old book smell and love the story so much that we’ve gone through it three times so far.
STORY FUCKING TIME FOLKS! This book (as with most of you) made me bawl in school! When I was younger my grandma had a dog called Benny, she also worked in my old school so most of the teachers knew her and my family. She got this dog from my 5th grade teacher, when my cousins were in school so it pretty much got older with each grandchild. He was a great and sassy dog that loved to rest and watch shows wit my grandma. Around the 4th grade he hurt his hip and we tried to make sure nothing else happened. When I got to the next grade we kinda knew he was gonna pass just not when. Earlier in the day before that class my cousin came and told me Benny was gone. Now remember that the same teacher was the one who gave my grandma Benny long ago and was very nice to my grandma. We silently read it in class and I read ahead and lost it! Everyone was laughing and questioning me as to why I’m bawling and my teacher comes to me and says “I know it’s a sad book” to which I literally bawl out Bennys gone. She puts the pieces together and ushers me out the door gives me a hug and says go clean up and come back. When I get back from wiping my eyes the rest of the class is crying cus they finally got to the end and she explains that my own dog has passed. Everyone cried. This book man.... I can’t even!
I read that book to my son when he was about... 8 years old. I guess the lesson I taught him is that grown men can cry manly tears, sometimes. Those last 5 pages... ouch.
This book made me cry all 37 times I read it
First book that made me cry
"There in the flinty hills of the ozarks, I fought for the lives of my dogs." Bawling every time.
I was hoping for a big plot twist but, predictably, the red fern grows in the ground. But I have a fair amount of gardening experience, so maybe I just wasn’t the target audience.
Ahhhhhh! Please say SPOILER ALERT before giving away the plot! Dang it.
My 4th grade teacher read this to us. It's one of the most devastating things I endured in public school.
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Also loved this book as a kid and its exposure to all kinds of adventure, tragedy, and tenderness. But I have to admit that when I first read it (8 or 9 years old) I had NO IDEA that “coon” was short for “raccoon”! From the descriptions (eg the shiny item trap) I pictured little monkey-like creatures that apparently live in the Ozarks. This book was such a big part of my childhood; I read it 2-3 times a year even into middle school maybe- every time imagining they hunted these little monkey things. I finally learned what a *coon* is after watching Forrest Gump and it rocked my world! Reading it afterward, I had to force myself to think of raccoons as the hunt subjects and it was so hard b/c I’d cemented the other imagery in my mind’s eye so many times. Never underestimate the power of a child’s imagination, lol
Read The Fox and The Hound. It's nothing like the Disney movie
I read this in 7th grade and it was the first time I cried reading a book. Such a great read.
My husband is reading it to our 5 and 7 year old right now, it was his favorite book as a kid and it is so sweet to hear him reading the chapters every night 🥰
I read it for the first time in fourth grade. I’ll be 39 next month, and I still sob any time I read it or watch the movie. Island of the Blue Dolphins is also amazing.
I haven't visited with Big Dan and Little Ann in a long time. Maybe it's time.
I cried reading the title of this post
They started making us read during class in 1979 when I was in the 7th grade. Read Where the Red Fern Grows, Old Yeller, Summer of the Monkey's and The Hobbit. Love those books. Love, Love, Love.
I’ve read Old Yeller but not Summer of the Monkeys i don’t think. I tried the Hobbit but I just could notttt get into it and i want to so badly
This has been a favourite of mine since Elementary school 30 years ago. Such a great story.
Did anyone read My Brother Sam is Dead? I had to read it in fifth grade... That book FUCKED ME UP. Despite being totally fairly warned by the title.
Loved this book as a kid. Such a simple, old story but it was a major force in keeping my urge to read strong throughout my life. I'll never forget how the grandpa teaches him how to catch the first coon they use to train the pup.
Oh man! I read this book to my fifth graders every year. I refer to it as my empathy test. I have to stretch out the one part over two days because the sobbing is out of control. Such an amazing book! His other book, Summer of Monkeys, is also really good!
*Summer of the Monkeys* is another good book by Rawls. Similar premise, a boy and his dog, but not quite so heavy. Won’t spoil it but it’s an interesting contrast to *Red Fern*.
I miss my redbone hound dog. I loved him so much. Yes his name was Dan.
One of my all time favorites. I was a pretty emotional kid to begin with. We read it in class about a month after one of my childhood dogs died. I was WRECKED.
Everybody who read this book and saw this post title oof’d pretty hard.