Sterling North, author of the bestselling RASCAL: A MEMOIR OF A BETTER ERA, and a friend.


Book Festival Namesake
Sterling North

Sterling North was born in 1906 in a farmhouse on the shores of Lake Koshkonong, the second largest lake in Wisconsin, and grew up in the nearby town of Edgerton, the "Brailsford Junction" of several of his books.

After graduating from Edgerton High School, he earned his way through the University of Chicago and began his writing career. He wrote for The Chicago Daily News, The New York World-Telegram and Sun, and for many magazines, including Reader's Digest, The Atlantic, Esquire, and Holiday.

In 1947, he completed So Dear to My Heart, the best seller that established him as one of America's favorite novelists. It was translated into 26 languages and charmed motion picture audiences everywhere when it was filmed by Walt Disney.

Rascal, an autobiographical story about raising a raccoon, was published in 1963 and immediately captured the hearts of young and old. More than two and one-half million copies have been sold. The story was translated into 18 other languages and was made into a film by Walt Disney for release in 1969. It became a 52-episode cartoon in Japan in 1977, becoming one of the most popular cartoons in a multi-year series of adaptations of children's books.

Six years later, North's final book, The Wolfling was published. He tells the story of Robbie and the wild wolf pup he raises in the 1870's in rural Wisconsin.

The Sterling North Society and Museum in Edgerton, Wisconsin

Rascal in Japan