Beth Anderson, Children's Writer

Here’s another fantastic book from one of the Kid Lit for Growing Minds members! In this post for educators and librarians, author Lisa Rogers, a former library teacher, shares how WOODY’S WORDS: WOODROW WILSON RAWLS AND WHERE THE RED FERN GROWS can be used as a springboard for students to practice a growth mindset.

GIVEAWAY! 🥳📕 Just leave a comment below to be entered to win a copy of WOODY’S WORDS!

Congratulation to Heidi Chupp, the winner of BEFORE I LIVED HERE by Stacy Jensen!

Who Helps You Shine? Embracing a Growth Mindset to Reach Your Dreams

By Lisa Rogers

Have you ever wondered what life would be like if your favorite piece of music, art, or book didn’t exist? What if the person who was making it never finished — or didn’t even start? 

I have, especially after learning about the life of Wilson Rawls, the author of the classic novel Where the Red Fern Grows.Rawls gave up on a long-held dream to become a published author, but when he told his wife his dream, she wanted to help. 

Rawls, nicknamed Woody, accepted that help. It worked: Woody published Red Fern in 1961 and another novel, Summer of the Monkeys, in 1976. “She made him shine,” Sophie’s niece told me. 

Without Sophie, it’s unlikely that those two books would have been published.

Learning that Woody burned his writing moved me to research and write the picture book biography Woody’s Words: Woodrow Wilson Rawls and Where the Red Fern Grows, illustrated by Susan Reagan (Calkins Creek/Astra, 2025).

One reason why Woody’s story resonated was because I almost gave up my writing dream. As a child, I didn’t have Woody’s struggles, but I lacked confidence. I didn’t know anyone who was a writer and could not imagine how to become one. Later, I dedicated myself to my goal, but good wasn’t good enough, and I almost gave up. 

So I created a growth mindset—the strategy originated by Stanford psychologist Carol Dweck. I pushed myself further, embracing mistakes as a way to learn more. I accepted help and encouragement from writer friends, continued to improve, 

and I reached my goal.

Educators can help students build a growth mindset by sharing Woody’s story. It might seem to students like success comes easily, but success most often requires lots of practice, trial and error, persistence, and help.

After reading and discussing Woody’s Words: Woodrow Wilson Rawls and Where the Red Fern Grows, students can practice embracing a growth mindset in their writing.

Here are six ways that Woody exemplified a growth mindset, with takeaways and writing prompts:

1. Woody practiced. 
Woody taught himself how to write by listening to the world around him. His spelling wasn’t perfect, but he learned how to express emotion in his words.

Takeaway: Practice can be tedious, but it builds skills. The foundation built through practice can lead to breakthroughs. As Caldecott Honoree author-illustrator Brian Lies says, “Practice makes better.”

Writing prompt: When have you practiced something? What difference did practice make in what you were trying to achieve?

2. Woody made mistakes but kept writing. 
Woody did not always do the right thing in his life. Times were hard and he sometimes stole. But he continued to write.

Takeaway: By accepting that mistakes are part of the process, students can find new paths to improve their writing. Trying a new opening for a story, changing a rhyming piece to prose or prose to verse, adding dialogue to show how characters’ feelings, or writing from a different character’s perspective all can open up possibilities.

Writing prompt: Have you ever rebounded from a mistake or choice that didn’t feel right? How can you transform a mistake or choice into something that feels right?

3. Woody became discouraged and gave up.
Woody was ashamed of his writing. He didn’t think he would ever be published. He destroyed all of his novels and short stories.

Takeaway: Each one of has something important to say that can resonate with others. Giving up means a writer’s voice will never reach others.

Writing prompt: How can you use your own important voice? What will you write? How might what you say and write affect others in a meaningful way?

4. Woody accepted help.
Woody admitted to his wife that he had a dream of becoming an author. She offered to help him, and he agreed. 

Takeaway: Asking for and accepting help can be difficult. Most people, though, feel good about being asked, and are happy to help.

Writing prompt: Can you think of a time when someone asked you for help? How did that you make you feel? How did it feel to help? What do you need help with? Who could you ask?

5. Woody started over and published his first book.
Woody reached his goal when Where the Red Fern Grows was published. He dedicated the book to Sophie because her help was so essential. 

Takeaway: Realizing a goal means you put in the work, learned through practice and mistakes, and most likely asked for and received help.

Writing prompt: When you reach your goal, who will you thank for helping you? Who has helped you shine? 

6. Woody encouraged others.
In a letter to young writers, Woody wrote: “Do not get discouraged. If you keep trying and don’t give up, you will make it someday.” The letter appears in the anniversary edition of Where the Red Fern Grows (Delacorte Press, 1996).

Takeaway: Receiving encouragement helps you notice when others need encouragement, too.

Writing prompt: What have you learned about the importance of encouragement? How might you reach out to others who need help?

I hope that Woody’s story will inspire students to express themselves in whatever creative endeavor that is meaningful to them—and not give up until they reach their goal.

Here’s a download of the READER’S GUIDE FOR WOODY’S WORDS!

To see a video intro to the book with author Lisa Rogers, click HERE.

Don’t forget to leave a comment below to get in on the GIVEAWAY for a copy of WOODY’S WORDS! (US addresses only, please. Winner announced 9/26/25.)

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