Wilson Rawls

Wilson Rawls was the beloved author of the enduring classic Where the Red Fern Grows and the acclaimed novel Summer of the Monkeys . Born on a small farm in the Ozark Mountains, Rawls spent much of his childhood exploring the hills and river bottoms of northeastern Oklahoma alongside Rowdy, his faithful old bluetick hound--experiences that would later inspire the heartfelt adventures in his fiction. First published in 1961, Where the Red Fern Grows has become a treasured classic for generations...See more

Wilson Rawls was the beloved author of the enduring classic Where the Red Fern Grows and the acclaimed novel Summer of the Monkeys . Born on a small farm in the Ozark Mountains, Rawls spent much of his childhood exploring the hills and river bottoms of northeastern Oklahoma alongside Rowdy, his faithful old bluetick hound--experiences that would later inspire the heartfelt adventures in his fiction. First published in 1961, Where the Red Fern Grows has become a treasured classic for generations of readers and was adapted into a widely praised motion picture. Rawls' second novel, Summer of the Monkeys , also earned critical acclaim, receiving numerous honors including the prestigious California Young Reader Medal. Wilson Rawls remains one of the most cherished voices in children's literature. He died in 1984 at the age of seventy-one. See less