Waterbear Publishing DR. ROSIE HELPS THE ANIMALS Contact: Jennifer Welborn, M.Ed. Email: info@waterbearpublishing.com Website: jenniferwelbornauthor.com Featured title in NEPM’s Books for Young People Series A RedRover Readers’ recommended humane-themed book Readers’ Choice Book Award Finalist 2023 “Dr. Rosie Helps the Animals is an enjoyable picture book that promotes Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) education in a fun way and emphasizes the intelligence and abilities that girls/women can achieve and be leaders in whichever field of study they pursue...This is a very special book that will contribute to stimulating bright minds and excitement in children particularly from underrepresented backgrounds to give them an example that they can achieve any career they wish to pursue…” --DR. RUBY PERRY, DVM, MS, Ph.D., DACVR, Dean, Tuskegee University College of Veterinary Medicine "Based on real-world veterinarian approaches, but far more diverse in its embrace of powerful solutions and approaches to life, parents of children who want to impart the basics of appreciation for animals and self-empowerment alike will find Dr. Rosie Helps the Animals an inviting story." --D. DONOVAN, Senior Reviewer, Midwest Book Review A young girl chases her dreams and becomes a veterinarian in this imaginative and playfully illustrated picture book with an empowering message. Amherst, Massachusetts, September 6, 2023 Synopsis Young Rosie loves watching her mom, a veterinarian, take care of all kinds of animals. She especially enjoys learning about the animals and helping them get better. When Rosie takes a rest from asking lots of questions, she finds herself in a dream where she meets an octopus, a crocodile, a giraffe, and more. One by one, Rosie uses her knowledge to help each animal. Dr. Rosie Helps the Animals is a clever and spirited debut picture book from author Jennifer Welborn and illustrator Rozillia MH. Welborn expertly weaves a story that is creative and fun while also steeped in STEM education. She was inspired by a real baby giraffe with a neck bandage who was successfully treated at a veterinary medical center. This made her think about other animals who have common afflictions that children experience and became the concept for her book. Although the story of Dr. Rosie Helps The Animals is fictitious, it is based on and informed by real-world veterinarians, including Jennifer’s husband. Jennifer’s partner in this book collaboration, artist Rozillia MH, was inspired to illustrate the story’s main character through her own vision of what the young child would look like: a smart, curious, caring, and empowered girl. Jennifer and Rozillia both feel strongly about the lack of female representation in STEM professions, which is particularly true of BIPOC women. For their picture book, it was important to create relatable, accessible characters as role models. They hope readers see themselves in the characters and are inspired to chase after their dreams. According to the American Veterinary Medical Association, approximately 2% of veterinarians in the U.S. are African American. A portion of the proceeds will go to the Dr. Jodie G. Blackwell Scholarship Fund, which has been set up to support African-American veterinarian students to help redress this underrepresentation. [https://www.einnews.com/pr_news/535153068/why-are-veterinarians-always-white]. Jennifer Welborn is an award-winning educator who has written numerous articles, plays, labs, and activities that have been published in scientific journals and textbooks. With a B.S. degree in wildlife management and an M.Ed. in science education, she has been involved with STEM for over thirty years as a writer, researcher, and teacher. One of her professional goals is to encourage young people to pursue their STEM interests. Rozillia MH (also known as Mahdia Hunt) is an illustrator, writer, and educator with a degree in linguistics She has traveled extensively and loves to learn about different cultures. She values the experiences and the perspectives she has gathered from all walks of life. Rozillia is currently pursuing a career in speech and language pathology. It is through this field that she hopes to continue learning how to help children of diverse backgrounds and how to better tell their stories through books and illustrations. Dr. Rosie Helps the Animals officially launched on April 30, 2022 (World Veterinary Day). La Doctora Rosie Ayuda a los Animales officially launched on April 29, 2023 (World Veterinary Day) For more information about the author Jennifer Welborn, illustrator Rozillia MH, and Dr. Rosie Helps the Animals, please contact the publisher: info@waterbearpublishing.com or visit the author website: https://www.jenniferwelbornauthor.com/ or companion education website: https://drrosiehelpstheanimals.org

Author Bio - Jennifer Welborn, M.Ed. Author Jennifer Welborn has been involved in STEM for more than thirty years as a researcher, teacher, and contributor to science journals and textbooks. One of several awards that she has won for courses she developed was the A World of Difference Teaching Award, given by the Anti-Defamation League for the anti-bias curriculum she developed and taught to middle school students. Jennifer thinks a good children’s story is one that is relatable, has some unexpected twists, humor, and of course, a happy ending. She hopes that young readers of Dr. Rosie Helps the Animals, which is based on the STEM profession of veterinary medicine, will see a model of a professional woman working in a STEM field and a young girl pursuing her STEM interest after viewing that positive role model. Dr. Rosie Helps the Animals was inspired by a picture of a real baby giraffe sent to Jennifer by her husband, a wildlife veterinarian. The baby giraffe had a neck bandage and was successfully treated at a veterinary medical center. This made Jennifer think about other animals who have common afflictions that children experience and became the concept for her book. Jennifer, who has a B.S. degree in wildlife management, and an M.Ed. in science education, feels strongly about the lack of female representation in many STEM professions which is particularly true of BIPOC women. For Dr. Rosie Helps the Animals, she purposefully created relatable, accessible characters to pay homage to everyday heroes. She hopes her readers see themselves in her book’s characters and are inspired to chase after their dreams. When she isn’t writing inspiring and thought-provoking children’s books, Jennifer Welborn is a science educator and mother with many interests, including triathlon racing, sewing quilts, playing the flute and piano, and open water swimming. She lives with her family in Western Massachusetts where she enjoys going on hikes with her husband and their Italian water dog, Bari. Dr. Rosie Helps the Animals is her debut children’s book.

Illustrator Bio - Rozillia MH Rozillia MH is passionate about art and storytelling through visual designs. For as long as she can remember, she has collected books, comics, and graphic novels. It is through her love of books and knack for learning that she developed an appreciation of different languages and cultures. This was one of her motivators to pursue a Bachelor of Arts degree in linguistics. She also developed a desire to see the world and has traveled to over ten countries. Through her travels, she gained a whole new perspective of people and realized there are so many stories not being told. Unfortunately, in fictional storytelling, there is a lack of people of color. So when the opportunity arose to work on and illustrate a story of a young black girl traveling the world and helping animals, she was beyond ecstatic! Dr. Rosie Helps the Animals, her debut picture book, is her dream coming to life. In addition to her talent and passion for illustrating, Rozillia is pursuing a career in speech and language pathology. It is through this field that she hopes to continue learning how to help children of diverse backgrounds and how to better tell their stories through books and illustrations. You can see samples of Rozillia’s illustrations: @Rozilliah.

Dr. Rosie Helps The Animals- Catalog Description Dr. Rosie Helps the Animals by Jennifer Welborn and Rozillia MH [Long version] A young girl chases her dreams and becomes a veterinarian in this imaginative and playfully illustrated picture book with an empowering message. Readers will find this inventive story about animals with sore throats, stuffy noses, and allergies delightful. Young Rosie loves watching her mom, a veterinarian, take care of all kinds of animals. She especially enjoys learning about the animals and helping them get better. When Rosie takes a rest from asking lots of questions, she finds herself in a dream where she meets an octopus, a crocodile, a giraffe, and more. One by one, Rosie uses her knowledge to help each animal. Dr. Rosie Helps the Animals is a clever and spirited debut picture book from author Jennifer Welborn and illustrator Rozillia MH. Welborn masterfully combines playful storytelling with an educational edge through the exploits of her imaginative and appealing character Rosie. Readers will be entertained with each introduction of an animal in the story and finding out how to heal their ailment. “Do you have to use this cactus on the puppy?” Rosie asked, eyeing a plant in the corner of the room. Mom smiled. “It’s not a cactus. It’s an aloe plant. The liquid in the leaves helps skin feel better.” Over the course of her dream, Rosie encounters various animals who have common childhood afflictions—a giraffe with a sore throat, an elephant with a stuffy trunk, a polar bear with a fever—and uses her knowledge and skills to help them. Rosie spotted a baby crocodile. It was drooling, and its mouth looked swollen. Rosie wondered if the crocodile might be getting more teeth, even though it already had so many. Ever so carefully, she pried open its mouth. “Poor guy. Your new teeth are making your gums sore.” Rosie remembered when her baby brother was teething. Her mom had given him something cold to chew on. Welborn expertly weaves a story that is creative and fun while also steeped in STEM education. She was inspired by a picture from her husband, a wildlife veterinarian, of a real baby giraffe with a neck bandage. The giraffe was successfully treated at a veterinary medical center. This made her think about other animals, who have afflictions that children experience and became the concept for her book. While the story of Dr. Rosie is fictitious, it is based on and informed by real-life veterinarians. Jennifer, a science educator with a degree in wildlife management, and Rozillia, an illustrator with a degree in linguistics, both feel strongly about the lack of female representation in many STEM professions, which they feel is particularly true of BIPOC women. For their picture book, it was important for them to create relatable, accessible characters to pay homage to everyday heroes. They hope readers see themselves in their book’s characters and are inspired to chase after their dreams. This book is perfect for children who love animals or who are interested in veterinary medicine. It is also well-suited for parents, caregivers, teachers, and librarians looking for books on representation, diversity, empathy, adventure, and STEM careers. [Short description] A young girl chases her dreams and becomes a veterinarian in this imaginative and playfully illustrated picture book with an empowering message. Readers will find this inventive story about animals with sore throats, stuffy noses, and allergies delightful.