My eleven year old son read this book. He did not know a lot of information about the author of "Where the Red Fern Grows" so he liked learning about his childhood. It taught you to be self sufficient to achieve success.

Thank you to NetGalley for the chance to preview this book.

This is the book behind the beloved book Where The Red Fern Grows. It's the story of a boy living in hard times whose mom read library books to him. After he learned to read, he even learned to write despite having neither paper nor pencil and made a life for himself and his wife based on that book.
I feel that this is a Must Read whether you've read his book or not.
I requested and received a temporary uncorrected digital Galley on Thorium PDF from Astra Publishing House | Calkins Creek via NetGalley. Pub Date Sep 09, 2025 *****review
#WoodysWords by @lisaljrogers and @susan_reagan @astrapublishinghouse #Calkins Creek #nonfiction #wheretheredferngrows #wilsonrawls #hounddog #doglover #dogsofinstagram #kidsbooks #picturebooks @childrensbookcouncil #NetGalley @redfernfestival #Cherokeenation

Great book! Who would have thought to write a kids' book about "Where the Red Fern Grows" author Woodrow Wilson Rawls? This author did, and it resulted in a richly interesting and highly unique story. I especially liked the layout of this book, where there was a few paragraphs of storytelling, and then a quote from Woody himself. This, in my opinion, made for a more personal reading experience and, although it was a small detail, it added a lot to the overall book. Additionally, the illustrations clearly had a lot of thought put into them, and they were the perfect way to add vivid life to Woody's story. What's even better, I think that the way the illustrator made use of colors and lines was spectacular, and I thought that it gave a subtle nod to the story's time period. Bravo, bravo!!

Like many others, I'm familiar with Where the Red Fern Grows -- but I knew nothing about Wilson Rawls himself before this book. What a determined, brilliant man!

Woody's Words tells the story of young Wilson, just trying to figure out his way in the world during the Great Depression while absolutely loving the art of writing. As he grows up and life gets rougher, he begins to doubt that anyone will want to read his work or that he's even good at it. But with the help of the woman he loves, their team effort results in a bestseller known the world over.

Alongside beautiful illustrations, this book is a worthy tribute. Thank you to NetGalley and the author for providing me with a free eARC in exchange for an honest review.

It is hard to write just the right note of enough information and not too much when writing a picture book biography. And this one nailed that balance. And I wanted to go read Where the Red Fern Grows all over again and weep even hard this time because I have some backstory to go with the book now. Even my two year old sat through this book and found it entertaining.

Thanks to Astra House for the digital review copy. All opinions are my own.

Woody, an uneducated county boy, wanted to nothing but roam the hills and fields. That was until his Mama read him “The Call of the Wild”. He loved this story so much that it inspired him to learn how to read and write himself. He did not have pen and paper so he resorted to sticks in the sand. He now was determined to write his own story. Through his many years, writing became an escape of reality for Woody. He ended up giving up on writing his story as life got in the way. Through another struggle time, Woodys had his wife’s support in writing his dream story. The boy who learned to read and write with a stick and dirt published his story, not just a story a BESTSELLER story. This story shows that just because you have less, it doesn’t mean you cannot make it into MORE.

It was a honor to be able to read this story as my grandfathers nickname was Woody. This story related to him in more than one way which gave me such a good reading connection to this book. I will be buying this book for the family as soon as it’s published.

Most of us know a reluctant reader: a person who is not particularly inclined to spend time in the company of books. One of the most talented writers of the twentieth century was one such child. Rawls loved the outdoors. He didn't have access to a lot of reading material and (quite honestly) wasn't interested. Not until his mother read Jack London's Call of the Wild aloud to him did he fall hard for stories, and begin to dream of becoming a writer himself. With no traditional schooling, and no paper or pencil to be found, Rawls would write with a stick in the dirt, describing the sounds and sights of the natural world around him. As he grew older, he sourced paper bags from trash bins and carefully unfolded them to use as writing paper. He began saving his stories (including one about a young boy and his dogs) but eventually lost his nerve to keep going. He knew that his spelling was abysmal, parts of his writing felt personal, and he was afraid that somebody might stumble onto his words.

The fear that many creatives feel when it comes to sharing their work—and exposing their own imperfections—is deeply, deeply relatable.

If it weren't for Rawls's wife, those words of his would never have amounted to anything more than a nondescript pile of ashes. When he finally opened up to her about his secret desire to write, she supported him emotionally, financially, and unconditionally. It's just such a beautiful picture of love triumphing over fear.

I love Where the Red Fern Grows, and I love Rogers's book about the man who wrote it.

I give my HEARTFELT recommendation of this commendable work of children's non-fiction, and hope that many parents, children, and educators will read it.