Summer of the Monkeys

Honors and Praise for Wilson Rawls’ Where the Red Fern Grows:

A School Library Journal Top 100 Children’s Novel

An NPR Must-Read for Kids Ages 9 to 14

Winner of 4 State Awards

Over 7 million copies in print!

“A rewarding book … [with] careful, precise observation, all of it rightly phrased.” —The New York Times Book Review

“One of the great classics of children’s literature … Any child who doesn’t get to read this beloved and powerfully emotional book has missed out on an important piece of childhood for the last 40-plus years.” —Common Sense Media

“An exciting tale of love and adventure you’ll never forget.” —School Library Journal

“A book of unadorned naturalness.” —Kirkus Reviews

“Written with so much feeling and sentiment that adults as well as children are drawn with a passion.” —Arizona Daily Star

“It’s a story about a young boy and his two hunting dogs and . . . I can’t even go on without getting a little misty.” —The Huffington Post

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.

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