Josie James, aka JoAnn Adinolfi, on Marjory’s River of Grass: Marjory Stoneman Douglas, Fierce Protector of the Everglades

In this post, we feature award-winning author writer and illustrator JoAnn Adinolfi, who also writes under the name Josie James. Her previous titles include Marie’s Ocean: Marie Tharp Maps the Mountains Under the Sea, which was named a National Science Teaching Association Best STEM Book of 2021, among other honors. You can hear her speak about her new picture book, Marjory’s River of Grass: Marjory Stoneman Douglas, Fierce Protector of the Everglades. You can also try her “invitation to imagine” activity and find other resources to explore. Thanks for joining us, and let us know what you think in the comments below!

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Marjory’s River of Grass: Marjory Stoneman Douglas, Fierce Protector of the Everglades

• Written and illustrated by Josie James, aka JoAnn Adinolfi
• Published by Christy Ottaviano Books, an imprint of Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, a division of Hachette Book Group
• Release date: April 15, 2025

This picture-book biography introduces Marjory Stoneman Douglas, the remarkable conservationist and naturalist who worked tirelessly to protect the Florida Everglades. As an environmental journalist and conservationist, Douglas spent her life fighting to preserve the Florida Everglades. Now celebrated as a subtropical paradise with a diverse ecosystem, the Everglades was once considered a worthless swamp. Douglas recognized the wetlands as a treasured river, home to an array of species unlike anywhere else in the world—and she was determined to help protect it. This is the story of how Marjory Stoneman Douglas’s incredible vision and unwavering tenacity led to the preservation of one of the most unique regions on Earth. Bonus content includes an author’s note, inspiring quotes by Douglas, and information about water: where it comes from and what we can do to help preserve this precious resource.

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Explore Marjory’s River of Grass: Marjory Stoneman Douglas, Fierce Protector of the Everglades

Listen to Josie James, aka JoAnn Adinolfi, talking with TeachingBooks about creating Marjory’s River of Grass: Marjory Stoneman Douglas, Fierce Protector of the Everglades. You can click the player below or experience the recording on TeachingBooks, where you can read along as you listen, and also translate the text to another language.

• Listen to author and illustrator Josie James, aka JoAnn Adinolfi, pronounce her name.
• Sample an audiobook of Marjory’s River of Grass: Marjory Stoneman Douglas, Fierce Protector of the Everglades on Overdrive.com.
• Explore TeachingBooks’ collection of activities and resources for Marjory’s River of Grass: Marjory Stoneman Douglas, Fierce Protector of the Everglades.

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Invitation to Imagine

Imagination Activities with Josie James, aka JoAnn Adinolfi

When I make pictures, I play around with colors, objects, and patterns that don’t typically belong together. As I work, seeing how these differences can create the most beautiful and surprising artistic relationships is fun. This also applies to storytelling. For example, in my book Marjory’s River of Grass, one would not expect Marjory Stoneman Douglas, a woman wearing a dress, hat, and pearls, to become the champion of the great Everglades wilderness. Yet it happened, and the why and how of this unusual pairing makes the story worth writing and hopefully reading. Here are three prompts that you can use to create your own story of unexpected elements:

• Write about two or three things that don’t go together, and see if you can find a common thread that changes the narrative. 
• Write about something that turned out better than you expected and not because it went perfectly, but because it didn’t go perfectly. 
• Write about someone you didn’t like at first but grew to appreciate because of the differences you experienced, not the similarities.

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Finish This Sentence . . . with Josie James, aka JoAnn Adinolfi

“You may not know that I can…”

You may not know that I can play the drums and speak German.

“A surprising thing that helps me work is…”

A surprising thing that helps me work is staying up very, very late at night. The world is quiet and peaceful. The light of the moon is soft, and I do not feel the expectations to achieve that the day brings. Instead, I feel the freedom to dream into the night and catch those dreams because I am awake.

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Thank you!

To wrap up this Virtual Book Tour, we thank Josie James, aka JoAnn Adinolfi, for signing a book for all of us.

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More Connections to Josie James, aka JoAnn Adinolfi, and Marjory’s River of Grass: Marjory Stoneman Douglas, Fierce Protector of the Everglades

• Discover books like Marjory’s River of Grass: Marjory Stoneman Douglas, Fierce Protector of the Everglades on TeachingBooks.
• Hachette’s page about Marjory’s River of Grass: Marjory Stoneman Douglas, Fierce Protector of the Everglades, written and illustrated by Josie James, aka JoAnn Adinolfi.
• Buy Marjory’s River of Grass: Marjory Stoneman Douglas, Fierce Protector of the Everglades, written and illustrated by Josie James, aka JoAnn Adinolfi.

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Explore all of the titles featured in the TeachingBooks Virtual Book Tour: one link with author interviews, lesson plans, activities, and more!

All text and images are courtesy of JoAnn Adinolfi and Hachette Book Group and may not be used without expressed written consent.