Mary Blocksma is the author of more than twenty-four books for children and adults. Of her children's books, one has been offered by the Junior Literary Guild, another featured by PBS's Reading Rainbow and five are available in Spanish. Her first book for adults, Reading the Numbers became a dual main selection of the Quality Paperback Book Club and was acclaimed by Scientific American as one of the best science books of the year; Naming Nature was a Rodale Book Club selection. During the last twenty years Mary Blocksma has used her experience as painter, writer, explorer, librarian and amateur naturalist to produce unusually informative and entertaining written and watercolor works celebrating the Great Lakes. Her work includes The Fourth Coast: Exploring the Great Lakes Coastline from the St. Lawrence Seaway to the Boundary Waters of Minnesota; Lake Lover's Year: A Writer Learns to Paint; What's on the Beach? A Great Lakes Treasure Hunt; What's in the Woods? and her latest book, Dog Rescue A to Z: A Beginner's Memoir.