Velma Johnston (1912-1977), nicknamed "Wild Horse Annie," loved wild mustangs all her life. When she saw mustangs being rounded up and killed to make room for ranchers, she knew she had to speak up. She began writing letters to local newspapers and politicians. Many people told her to hush up, but they couldn't stop Annie. She soon became a voice for mustangs across the state of Nevada. Annie got children to speak up with her, writing letters to Washington, D.C. to ask their elected officials to save the mustangs. In 1971, with the help of her young "pencil brigade," she persuaded Congress to pass a law protecting wild horses and burros on public land. Wild Horse Annie empowered a generation of children to become a voice for the voiceless.

 

This book has been graded for interest at 4+ years.

There are 48 pages in this book. This is a picture book. A picture book uses pictures and text to tell the story. The number of words varies from zero ('wordless') to around 1k over 32 pages. Picture books are typically aimed at young readers (age 3-6) but can also be aimed at older children (7+). This book was published 2019 by Farrar, Straus & Giroux Inc .

Tracey Fern is the author of several other picture books, including Dare the Wind and Barnum ' s Bones, both Junior Library Guild selections. She lives in West Newton, Massachusetts. Steven Salerno has illustrated over twenty books for children, including BOOM! And Brothers At Bat, which was named a Notable Picture Book of the Year by the New York Times Book Review.