My grandmother read this book to me as a child she read to me way past what is normal lol age wise. We would revisit some books together but this one she said she would never read again and we never did it was so gut wrenchingingly real and so expressive it hurt to relive that pain. She read to me till she died. Less and less for sure as I bacme an adult and we would hit Where the Red Fern Groes once more. We never gave this one another read once was enough.