Who was Wilson Rawls?
• Born in 1913
• “Woodrow Wilson Rawls”- named for President Wilson
• Grew up in Tahlequah, Oklahoma
• “Home schooled”
• Favorite book: Call of the Wild
by Jack London
Rawls’ Writing Career
• Not highly educated
• Trouble with grammar and spelling
• Burned his first copy of Red Fern
• Original title: Hounds of Youth
• Received help from his wife
• Red Fern- published in 1961
Writing Career Continued…
• Summer of the Monkeys- 2nd novel (published in 1976)
• Rawls died in 1984
• One regret: – He wanted to show a copy of
Red Fern to his dad– “It took a long time, Dad,
but I made it.”
Setting of the novel
• Remember setting= time and place
• Time: Great Depression
• Place: Oklahoma….Ozark Mountains
Ozark Mountains in the fall
More on the Ozarks
• Deeply incised by water erosion
• Eroded areas are often very rugged
• Difficult and treacherous to foot travel
• Only large area of elevated land between the Appalachian Mountains and the Rockies
Ozark Mountains in the spring
More on The Great Depression
• 1929-1939
• "Black Thursday“- October 24, 1929
• Worst economic disaster in American history
• New Deal
• Help from WWIINo job, no hope…
Facts About The Great Depression
• 50% of U.S. children did not have “adequate food, shelter, clothing or medical care”
Facts continued…
• Soup lines
• People often waited in line all day for a small meal
• Some had to pick through the trash for food
Facts continued…
• Things got worse…– The Dust Bowl – Money in the bank? – “Hoovervilles”– Hoover Soup
Facts continued…
• Things begin to get better– FDR (Franklin D. Roosevelt)- became
president in 1933– New Deal
• Social Security• National Recovery Administration • Securities and Exchange Commission
– FDIC– Fireside talks– WW II
There’s More to the Story
• There is more to Where the Red Fern Grows than the setting:
• Hound Dogs• Raccoons• Mountain Lion
• Not to mention ADVENTURE and SUSPENSE
Ain’t Nothing But a Hound Dog
• Redbone Coon Hounds– Fur: Rich red color– Size: 45-75 pounds– Life expectancy: 11-12 years– Very loyal, brave, and tough– Excellent hunters
Whose Behind That Mask?
• Raccoons– Common in the Ozarks– Black “burglar’s mask”– Tail serves as a brace– Climb trees to escape predators– Wash their food
“The Scourge of the Mountains”
• Let’s begin with the roar and a video:– http://www.defenders.org/wildlife_and_habitat/
wildlife/mountain_lion.php– Diet: Large mammals such as deer
Will also eat smaller mammals such as mice, squirrels, porcupines, raccoons, rabbits and beavers.
– There are an estimated 30,000 mountain lions in the western U.S.
More on the Scourge
• Mountain lions are solitary animals. They are very territorial and actively avoid other cats except during courtship.
Now we are ready to read…
• What aspect are you most excited to learn more about?
What an Experience!
• Many years have passed since Wilson Rawls wrote Where the Red Fern Grows, and a lot of things have changed in our country. One thing always remains the same, however…every person who reads this book is touched by it and forever changed by the experience.