The Yearling by Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings is a story about self discovery and the rite of passage for young Jody Baxter The Yearling is a 1938 novel written by Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings She wrote the novel about what she knew best she lived in north central Florida where the novel is set The Yearling won the Pulitzer Prize for the Novel in 1939 The story outlines the life of the Baxter family The story is told over the course of a year in the Baxters life The story is based on young Jody growing