Emma's River

Emma, her pony, and her mother travel up the Missouri River on a steamboat to join Papa on the frontier. When she sneaks to the main deck to check on her beloved pony, she finds Patrick, a stowaway, who's bunking with her pony, and the two make a deal that evolves into friendship. When the Sally May explodes in a fiery blaze, Louisa, Mama, Patrick, wealthy cabin passengers, poor immigrants, and one plucky pony must find a way to survive the disaster.

When Alison Hart was seven years old, she wrote, illustrated, and self-published a book called The Wild Dog. Since then, she's authored more than sixty books for young readers. A former teacher, she lives in Virginia.

After a long career as a freelance illustrator, producing work for books and magazines, Paul Bachem now devotes his time to painting landscapes and seascapes from nature. His paintings are in numerous private collections as well as the permanent collection of the Forbes Gallery in New York City. He lives in New Jersey.