As my fourth grade teacher read Where the Red Fern Grows aloud to our class, the love of a boy for his dogs and the love of a grandfather for his grandson, as well as a mother's desire for something better for her family, became evident. Wilson Rawls' themes made an impact on us all. We laughed and cried together-boys, girls, and teacher-through death and joy in the hills set east of our Tulsa classroom. The universality of those themes was confirmed when my students and I laughed and cried as I read the book aloud a generation later.