Dead Dogs

It's been a sad day around here.

The boy is sick, and on top of that, he just finished the last chapters of Where the Red Fern Grows. Maybe I should have gently warned him about the ending. But after a summer of reading dog books like Old Yeller, Stone Fox, and A Dog Named Kitty (all the dogs die in the end), the dam burst and the tears just wouldn't stop.

He sobbed for at least 15 minutes, and despite my best attempts, and my reminders that these books are FICTION, he was inconsolable. "Why, why do all the dogs die in the end? Why couldn't he write it differently? Why? It's just not right that the dog always has to die." As he cried, he added, "This is why everybody doesn't have a dog; people just can't take stuff like this."

Poor guy. (Addendum: we don't have a dog because we/I don't want to be that responsible for a living thing who isn't human. That and the whole "messed up back yard" thing. Yes, we are no fun. And . . . my apologies to dog lovers everywhere who know their dogs ARE human).

The tears have finally stopped, but I'll think I'll steer him toward something lighter in future days. If it was appropriate, I'd have him read a book titled, No More Dead Dogs by Gordon Korman. It's a pretty funny tween book, and the basic premise is about a middle-school boy who refuses to write a report on a book titled Old Shep because he has HAD IT with reading books about dead dogs. You adult readers would get a kick out of it.

To what books have your kids had a strong emotional reaction?

Jana