Accelerated Reader Program Selection
“Once you’re a cowhunter, you’re always a cowhunter.”
—Iris Wall
Iris Wall was anything but an average girl. While most girls in 1939 were learning how to quilt and crochet, Iris was a “twistin’, turnin’, buckin’ bundle of blue twisted steel.” She grew up breaking horses, and riding rodeos in Florida. Although her family didn’t have a radio or television, there was never any shortage of entertainment. There were weekend bonfires and riding everywhere on her very own horse, but the thing Iris loved most in the world was cow hunting. In fact, she hunted cows for more than seventy years. First with her daddy, then her husband, and later with three cracker cowgirls of her own.
This children’s biography tells how Cracker cowhunter Iris Wall grew up in America’s oldest cattle-raising state. In 2006, she was inducted into the Florida Cracker Hall of Fame and presented with the “Woman of the Year in Agriculture” award. Old Florida is brought to life through a glossary at the end of her life’s story.
About the Author
Carol Matthews Rey is a second-grade teacher who has previously been named Martin County Teacher of the Year. She has taught elementary school for more than thirty-five years and had two history projects displayed at the Elliott Museum in Stuart, Florida. A member of the Florida Reading Association and the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, Rey was a past president of the Martin County Reading Association. She has completed advanced courses at the Institute of Children’s Literature. The daughter of a farmer, she lives in Indiantown, Florida.
About the Illustrator
Eldon Lux has thirty years experience as an artist. His work is displayed in private collections in several U.S. states as well as foreign countries. He has previously worked for Walt Disney World, Walt Disney Imagineering, Disney California Adventure, and Tokyo DisneySea. Also a saddle maker and blacksmith, Lux was raised on a ranch and has a BS in animal science from the University of Nebraska. He lives in Kenansville, Florida.
IRIS WALL, CRACKER COWGIRL
By Carol Matthews Rey
Illustrated by Eldon Lux
JUVENILE NONFICTION / Biography & Autobiography / Women
JUVENILE NONFICTION / History / United States / State & Local
32 pp. 8 1/2 x 11
31 color illus. Glossary
ISBN: 9781455615254