Posted on March 6, 2021 at 4:00 PM by Sadye Scott-Hainchek

One of the fun parts of our job is asking bookworms questions about their reading habits or history.

Sometimes we recognize ourselves in you — other times, our minds are totally blown!

The question of which book was the first to make you cry (that you can remember) was no exception.

Like us, you wept over Little Women by Louisa May Alcott, Old Yeller by Fred Gipson, and Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson.

And many of you also reported that Black Beauty by Anna Sewell, Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls, Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White, Call of the Wild by Jack London, The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams, and Bambi by Felix Stern brought you to tears at a young age.

Just as fun was learning the ones we either didn’t read, didn’t cry over, or didn’t cry first over (an important distinction that was also fascinating to us!).

Here, courtesy of your fellow bookworms, are books that should come with a packet of tissues, apparently.

Allie B.: Anne Of The Island: chapter "The Summons.”

Amber T.: Probably The Outsiders.

Annette M.: Probably The Thorn Birds.

Barbara W.: The Yearling

Betty S.: Florence Nightingale

Chris K.: Lad: A Dog. One of that series.

Claire S.: Dog Named Kitty, bawled at the end of the novel.

Dave M.: I think I was eleven or twelve in the early '70s and was reading The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant. I got all blurry eyed when the giant Saltheart Foamflower died. That was about fifty years ago and I still remember it...

Dawn H.: A Lesson Before Dying by Ernest Gaines.

Dorothy S.: To Kill a Mockingbird. When she recognizes Boo Radley at the end of the novel and says, “Hey Boo!” Floods of tears...

Elise P.: Blue Castle

Elizabeth S.: Definitely A Little Princess, but I specifically remember in fifth grade reading a biography of Lady Jane Grey and sobbing, rather than just quiet sad tears like I usually cry at books. I was so upset they beheaded her when she hadn't done anything except be in the wrong place at the wrong time. To this day, I'm not a fan of books that don't have happy endings.

Evelyn M.: The first one I remember is At Risk by Alice Hoffman. The ending is so sad.

Gail P.: A Wrinkle in Time.

Jessica S.: A Dutch book called het verrotte leven van Floortje bloem. It's about a young girl that had so many bad things happen in her life she ends up being a drugs addict and prostitute before the age of eighteen. It was one of the books on the mandatory reading list you can choose from. I did read it, but it was so shocking I didn't use it as a book report. I cried half the book.

Joanne M.: Watership Down made me cry more than any book I've ever read.

Ken H.: The Diary of Anne Frank

Liezle B.: Which Witch. I read that book so many times. I was probably the only kid that ever checked it out of the school's library.

Melody K.: A Nancy Drew mystery. I bawled at the end (Ned broke up with Nancy).

Olga S.: White Fang: I'm afraid of going back to it as an adult, although I read it many times as a child.

Phoebe P.: Probably NOT the *first* one to do this, but it is the first I remember: The Neverending Story by Michael Ende.

Sandra D.: The Black Stallion

Shirley E.: Deliver Us From Evil by Dr. Tom Dooley (copyright 1956)

Susan H.: Greyfriars Bobby — and it still makes me cry!

Tarrill A.: The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams as a middle schooler. Of course, Charlotte’s Web as a little!

Tessa P.: It has to be the ending of The Secret Garden.

Wendy C.: The Incredible Journey

Enjoy this post? Make sure to comment on our Facebook posts so we can share your bookish stories and opinions in the future!

Tagged As: Reader stories

Comments
There are no comments yet.
Add Comment

* Indicates a required field