(2) K-3 Illustrated by Susan Reagan . In early 1900s Oklahoma, young Woody Rawls’s (1913–1984) education came from the woods, fields, and riverbanks he roamed with his loyal hound dog. His mother often read aloud to him, though nothing resonated with him until a copy of Jack London’s The Call of the Wild arrived at the family’s farm. In a testament to the power of connecting readers with just the right book, the classic dog story deeply motivated Rawls: “I don’t care how long it takes me or what I have to do. Some day in my life I will write a book, and it will be a dog story.” Though Rawls faced struggle and hardship throughout his life, his perseverance and the support of his wife led to the publication of the timeless best-selling children’s classic Where the Red Fern Grows. Rogers’s (most recently Joan Mitchell Paints a Symphony, rev. 5/25) picture-book biography seamlessly weaves quotes from Rawls throughout the narrative. Reagan’s (recently The Fabulous Fannie Farmer, rev. 1/24) fluid watercolor and digitally drawn illustrations, in earthy greens and browns and rendered in an old-fashioned style, suit the subject well. Back matter contains an author’s note, including more on Rawls’s maternal lineage as Cherokee Nation citizens, and a detailed bibliography. A rare account of Rawls’s life, this will inspire young readers to persevere in pursuit of their goals.

Reviewer: | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2025

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Susan Reagan. “When Ruth Patrick was five years old, she fell in love with pond scum.” Patrick (1907–2013) spent her childhood exploring the natural world around her Kansas City, Missouri, home. Looking through her father’s microscope, she was especially entranced by diatoms, “microscopic algae that live in every body of water on Earth...Without them, we would not be here.” She attended a women’s college, studying biology, and earned a PhD in botany from the University of Virginia. While working at the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia, she led a team doing fieldwork on water pollution in streams and rivers throughout Pennsylvania: “No one had ever studied everything in a river before. It would be a huge job.” Along with mentoring other scientists, her lasting legacies include a clearer understanding of what’s now known as biodiversity and her tireless work on clean-water legislation. The point that this happened at a time when relatively few women were encouraged to be in the sciences is neither overlooked nor hammered home (a concluding author’s note provides more detail). The text is clear, with a storytelling flow that builds upon previous details, and the textured digital and hand-painted illustrations are naturalistic and approachable. A timeline, source notes, and a selected bibliography are also appended.

Reviewer: Elissa Gershowitz | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2025

(2) 4-6 Illustrated by Susan Reagan. When Odessa, nine, and her brother have yet another fight, their mother sends her to her room, where she stamps her feet in anger--and finds herself sent back in time, exactly twenty-four hours earlier. Despite the (sometimes uneven) fantasy element, the story is more a domestic tale of divorce, friendship, and family; kids will ponder what they'd re-do in their own lives.

Reviewer: Jennifer M. Brabander | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2013