Badger Clark (1883–1957), South Dakota's first poet laureate, is best known for his "A Cowboy's Prayer," erroneously attributed to Anonymous and a mainstay at rodeos across the United States. After spending much of his childhood in Deadwood, SD, Badger escaped a harrowing experience in Cuba and then found his vocation as a cowboy and a poet in Arizona. He had a way of expressing that smooth, rolling, clip-clop rhythm of horse and rider. Flood describes Badger's poetry as "Shakespeare meets Walt Whitman during a cattle drive." Badger Clark's legacy as a bard of the American West endures. For over one hundred years, Badger Clark's poems have been sung and celebrated at poetry gatherings, rodeos, and many a cowboy's final farewell. His plain and simple verses spoke of his love for the land and a deep appreciation for a life lived close to nature. Badger Clark: Poetry Wrangler tells the story of this iconic Western writer and celebrates his enduring poetry. Nancy Bo Flood’s work has focused on children and young adults as a counselor, teacher, parent, and an author. During the past twenty years, Nancy has lived on the Navajo Nation, working with teachers to develop relevant curriculum and guiding and encouraging students to write their own stories. Her books have won numerous awards: The Navajo Year, Walk Through Many Seasons (Arizona Book of the Year); Warriors in the Crossfire (Colorado Book of the Year); Cowboy Up! Ride the Navajo Rodeo (New Mexico-Arizona Book of the Year, Junior Library Guild Selection), and Soldier Sister, Fly Home (Junior Library Guild Selection). She became aware of Badger Clark when his “A Cowboy’s Prayer” was read as part of the Grand Entrance at a local rodeo, and thought, “What a song. What a prayer. What a poet!” Jeanne Bowman was born (more or less) with a crayon in her hand and never stopped putting marks on paper (or the walls, to her mother’s chagrin). She grew up loving the mountains and forests but has spent the majority of her life on the plains of Montana and the desert of New Mexico. She has illustrated The Selfish Giant by Oscar Wilde, Charlie Russell and the Gnomes of Bullhead Lodge by Emily Crawford Wilson, Bob Marshall: Defender of the Wilderness by Linda Elovitz Marshall, and Georgia Jipp: Blizzard Pilot by Laura Beth Dean. Jeanne received the 2022 Will Rogers Medallion Award for Illustrator of the Year for her work on Charlie Russell and the Gnomes and the 2025 Moonbeam Award for Best Illustrations for Georgia Jipp, which also won a Spur Award for best Children’s Picture Book. She currently resides in Sidney, MT.