Winner of the Humane Society of the United States Youth KIND Award, best children's picture book of the year, 2009 "From the touching cover illustration to the playful depictions of Dakota on the endpapers, this empathetic tale of a puppy-mill dog will resonate with animal lovers."— School Library Journal After rescue, Dog No. 241 finds herself in a warm, secure foster home, with a woman named Emma who names her Dakota. Eventually, a young girl, Sweetie, who is recovering from a misfortune as deep as Dakota's own, adopts Dakota and they become partners in recovery. Jan Zita Grover has worked in canine rescue since 1973, especially with discarded puppy-mill breed dogs. One of these dogs, Pixie, is the model for artist Nancy Lane's illustrations of Dakota. Jan is also the author of North Enough: AIDS and Other Clear-cuts (1997) and Northern Waters (1999), both published by Graywolf Press Nancy Lane has integrated her passions for animals, children, drawing, and reading into a career as an award-winning picture book illustrator. She has illustrated 27 books, including the Gryphon titles The Forgotten Rabbit, Call the Horse Lucky, and KoKoCat, Inside and Out. She holds a BFA in Illustration from Maryland Institute, College of Art. She lives with her writer-husband and two rescued German Shepherds in a log home nestled in the wooded hills of New York’s Finger Lakes region.