Stone Fox

This is not a book for sensitive kids. My son is 9 and was very sad throughout this book. From the grandfather thought to be dying, no parents and then the dog dies. My son declared this the worst book.

Not a fan of this. My son had to read this for school and it was such a sad book the entire story! And the ending was so sad I do not recommend this book!! I read a few reviews that felt the same as me like it did not make sense. Grandfather gives up, where are his parents, goes by Little Willy (like another reviewer said: *uncontrollable giggles*), and he runs the entire farm with his only friend and helper in the world his only reason to go on his old dog searchlight who shares his birthday and he runs the poor dog to literally death. She literally runs her heart out and dies instantly. So now that he finally saves the farm, he doesn't even have his dog who helps him with the potatoes. This story sucked there were so many other options to save the farm rather than running the only good thing in your life to literal death. Ugh. I wanted to like the ending with what Stone Fox did but he was a jerk who hit Willy in the eye the day before so he had no redeeming qualities from those actions. It was just all bad and all sad.

This was an assigned book for my 4th grader and she loved it. Be warned that the end of the book is extremely sad and my daughter was really upset. I wish now I would have read it ahead of time so I could prepare her for it.

It has a sad and abrupt ending...especially for a children’s book. I’m surprised this is so popular. It seems the ending would leave children disturbed and crying. Very tragic but it may be trying to promote a negative message about sled dog races. I’d rather have my child read facts about how dogs are cared for and treated on the trails from reputable sources instead of sharing this story. Neither does it seem believable that a ten year old and his dog would do the things the story claims.

This was a book I read to my 3rd graders as a read aloud. As I read the last few paragraphs I nearly broke down into tears in front of my students. You could hear a pin drop in my classroom. I had to stop and pause for a few minutes before I could go on. When I finally finished the story a few of my children had tears in their eyes, but they held it together better than I did. What a heartfelt story!! We truly enjoyed it!

I read this book at the strong behest of a student of mine who is also an avid reader. I finally got down to reading this story today and was able to read it all in one sitting. The book is shorter than I would have liked, and the ending feels like there is a chapter or two missing, but the story itself is lovely. Determination, love for others, and the dedication of our family members with more than two legs. I understand why my student was so adamant that I read this. Truly a memorable story.

I read this aloud to my 8 year old, and we were both surprised by the ending. We cried together and talked about how we need to be nice to everyone we love, because we never know when we might lose someone. Children need stories like this to learn empathy and resilience. I'm glad we read it together and were about to discuss it.

Love the Iditarod; use this book with the boys I teach to read. They have loved it over the years. The fact that the story has a little truth to it makes it all the more enticing. It holds the attention of the most ADHD young man. Little Willie and Grandpa become family friends. The death of Little Willie's dog Searchlight brings tears to the toughest boy.

I really enjoyed this book because it showed that know matter what you must keep trying. This book has a happy ending and I would recommend it to children 7+. Posted by a 10 year old boy who adores reading...

My 9 year old son loves dogs and really enjoyed this book. It was assigned as school reading for the third grade, but a second grader could read it too. It has a cliffhanger at the end of each chapter, which keeps the kids reading. The ending is sad. So if you have a sensitive child you may want to discuss the ending with him or her.It is a story about a little boy who lives with his grandfather on a farm. His grandfather is sick and has debts. The little boy decides to enter a dog race to win enough money to pay his grandfather’s debts. The little boy has to beat the best dog sled musher in the area. I’ll let you read to find out what happens.

I used this book as a class reader for a group of 24 10-year-olds. I did a quick survey at the end and about half of them said that they would recommend the book. The sad bits were enough to put some children off the book completely, although most of them were really gripped by the story. Personally, I have enjoyed other children's books more than this one, but that is mainly down to taste rather than quality.

Great quick story to read , this ones perfect for younger children to read

This is a fantastic short read! My grade 5 students could not wait for the next chapter