The Yearling

A Pulitzer Prize-winning classic originally published over 50 years ago, Rawling's timeless story of backwoods Florida and the tender relationship of a young boy and his tame fawn continues to delight and enthrall readers.

A genuine classic . . . The Yearling is a magnificent, transparent, slow-moving river. Its style is direct and free of fireworks . . . The Yearling expresses both danger and beauty . . . The novel's power is subtle, accumulating with every description of the natural world, until the book's rhythms become almost transcendental . . . I was stunned to awe by The Yearling's beauty and strength
This is not simply a remarkable book for young people, though it is certainly that; it is a literary masterpiece for all ages . . . Her world of rural America is so removed from ours, yet her story takes us there, steeping us in its landscape, language and people as it tells us a tale of growing up, of love and laughter, of tragedy and loss and grief - a tale that is so compelling that it turns the page for you: The Yearling leaves you tearful, breathless, exhilarated
'A genuine classic . . . The Yearling is a magnificent, transparent, slow-moving river. Its style is direct and free of fireworks . . . The Yearling expresses both danger and beauty: the Baxters are surviving on the brink, one dead sow or ruined corn crop from starvation, but there are also glorious passages about the land . . . The novel's power is subtle, accumulating with every description of the natural world, until the book's rhythms become almost transcendental . . . I was stunned to awe by The Yearling's beauty and strength and by Marjorie's empathy for her poor and struggling characters'
'A literary masterpiece for all ages . . . The Yearling leaves you tearful, breathless, exhilarated' Michael Morpurgo


In the remote, unforgiving landscape of central Florida, Ezra 'Penny' Baxter, his wife Ora and their son Jody carve out a precarious existence. Only ever a failed crop away from disaster, life in the Big Scrub is one of lurking danger, wild beauty and the thrill of the hunt.

Jody's world is transformed when he rescues a starving fawn, who becomes his constant companion. But their bond is threatened when the yearling endangers the family's survival - and Jody is forced to make a terrible choice that will change him forever.

Winner of the 1939 Pulitzer Prize and an instant bestseller, The Yearling is a moving and richly evocative classic for readers of all ages.

Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings (1896-1953), lived for twenty-five years in Cross Creek, Florida, the area that is the setting for The Yearling, which was awarded the Pulitzer Prize in 1939. She is the author of several earlier novels as well as a memoir, Cross Creek, which inspired the acclaimed motion picture of the same name.