Johnna Scalia – illustratör

Wilmettie is the story of one family's covered-wagon journey from West Texas to New Mexico Territory in the early 1900s. When Wilmettie's stepfather decides to follow his dream and claim a homestead of his own, Wilmettie's younger brothers are excited about the journey. But twelve-year-old Wilmettie is reluctant to leave her familiar surroundings and the grandmother she loves. The book takes readers along for her family's adventures on their way to what will become their new homestead: covered wagon trains are formed, rattlesnakes are encountered, rivers are forded, and banks are robbed. Along the way, young Wilmettie meets new friends from places and cultures unlike her own as her family makes the perilous journey to claim their homestead land. But will it end up being a true home to Wilmettie?