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 * Wilson Rawls was born into the name Woodrow Wilson Rawls on September 24, 1913 and later died on December 16, 1984. He was mostly known for two of the books he wrote, Where The Red Fern Grows and Summer Of The Monkeys. He grew up on a farm in the Ozark mountains which is one of the main settings in some of his books. Since there were no schools there his mother had to teach him. Rawls was not interested in reading though because his grandmother always ordered "girl" books for his mom to teach him and his sisters. But one day his grandmother ordered a book that changed his life called Call Of The Wild by Jack London. Rawls carried it with him wherever he went and then got the idea he wanted to write a story like his favorite book. But his father said if he wanted to be a writer he would have to get an education so young Rawls started reading all sorts of books to teach himself. Then he started to really appreciate all different kinds of books and he gained a passion for reading that would last his life. Then Rawls started writing books describing his surroundings as a youngster. **

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