1. Where the Red Fern Grows
By Wilson Rawls
Background Information

2. 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

3. 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

4. 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.”

5. Setting of the novel Remember setting= time and place
Time: Great Depression
Place: Oklahoma….Ozark Mountains
Ozark Mountains in the fall

6. 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

7. More on The Great Depression
"Black Thursday“- October 24, 1929
Worst economic disaster in American history
No job, no hope…

8. Facts About The Great Depression
50% of U.S. children did not have “adequate food, shelter, clothing or medical care”

9. Facts continued… Soup lines
People often waited in line all day for a small meal
Some had to pick through the trash for food

10. Facts continued…
Things got worse…
The Dust Bowl
“Hoovervilles”

11. 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

12. This says it all…

13. 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

14. Ain’t Nothing But a Hound Dog
Redbone Coon Hounds
Fur: Rich red color
Size: pounds
Life expectancy: years
Very loyal, brave, and tough
Excellent hunters

15. The Infamous “Tree Bark”

16. 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

17. “The Scourge of the Mountains”
Let’s begin with the roar and a video:
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.

18. More on the Scourge
Mountain lions are solitary animals.  They are very territorial and actively avoid other cats except during courtship. 

19. Now we are ready to read…
What aspect are you most excited to learn more about?

20. 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.

21. Time to Meet Billy
I look forward to sharing this book with you.