Where the Red Fern Grows
Rawls's first published novel and his best-known work.
Author guide
Wilson Rawls Books in Order
Wilson Rawls (1913–1984) was an American children's writer whose fiction drew on his childhood in the Ozark Mountains and northeastern Oklahoma. His two published novels are Where the Red Fern Grows and Summer of the Monkeys, both coming-of-age stories featuring young protagonists and strong connections to animals, family, and rural life.
children's fictioncoming-of-age fictionanimal fiction
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Summer of the Monkeys
A standalone novel and Rawls's second and final published book.
Outside the series
Bibliography by category
Novels (2)
- Where the Red Fern Grows
novel · 1961
Where the Red Fern Grows is a 1961 children's novel by Wilson Rawls about a boy who buys two hunting dogs. ---------- Also contained in: [Prentice Hall Literature: Bronze](https://openlibrary.org/works/OL24558491W)
- Summer of the Monkeys
novel · 1976
Summer of the Monkeys is about a young boy who finds a bunch of monkeys and seeks help from his grandfather to catch them. Along the way he learns that there is a reward for catching the monkeys and it is enough money for him to buy just…
Frequently asked questions about Wilson Rawls
Who was Wilson Rawls?
Wilson Rawls, whose full name was Woodrow Wilson Rawls, was an American novelist and short-story writer best known for children’s fiction, especially Where the Red Fern Grows.
When and where was Wilson Rawls born?
Rawls was born on September 24, 1913, in Scraper, Oklahoma. He grew up on his family’s farm in eastern Oklahoma’s Ozark region.
What did Wilson Rawls do before becoming an author?
During the Great Depression, Rawls traveled around the country and supported himself through laboring jobs, including work on the Alcan Highway in Alaska. He later worked for the Atomic Energy Commission in Idaho.
What influenced Wilson Rawls to become a writer?
His mother taught him to read, and Jack London’s novels deeply influenced him. Rawls also drew heavily on his childhood experiences in the hills and rural communities of eastern Oklahoma.
Sources: penguinrandomhouse.com (opens in a new tab)okhistory.org (opens in a new tab)
Did Wilson Rawls win any awards, and what is his legacy?
His novel Summer of the Monkeys won the William Allen White Children’s Book Award and the Oklahoma Library Association’s Sequoyah Children’s Book Award in 1979. Rawls also encouraged reading and writing through school visits, while his fiction remains popular for its portrayal of rural childhood and animals.
Sources: okhistory.org (opens in a new tab)penguinrandomhouse.com (opens in a new tab)