Writing always came easily for Texas Game Warden Joann Garza-Mayberry. When she was in junior high, her short story “Pick on Someone Your Own Size” appeared in her school’s literary magazine. So, when Garza encountered an outreach-related obstacle, she decided to write a solution.
“A local school asked that I participate in a reading program featuring first responders. They suggested I bring a book about my job and discuss it with the class,” says Garza-Mayberry, who serves Caldwell County southeast of Austin. “Sure enough, there are police books and firefighter books and paramedic books, but I just couldn’t find a children’s book about game wardens or conservation law enforcement.”
Garza-Mayberry didn’t just write her own children’s book on game wardens; she wrote three.
Callie Catches a Lunker, Will and Emma Go Boating and Joey Takes a Shot at Hunting all center on children and their parents learning about conservation through the recurring character, Warden Caldwell.
Once Garza-Mayberry made up her mind to write the books, she focused most of her energy on finding a public safety aspect of each adventure. For that, she pulled on her 19 years of experience as a field warden in Central Texas. Recalling her daily interactions with families in the outdoors, Garza-Mayberry wrote situations that could empower children through education. In Will and Emma Go Boating, the children learn the importance of always wearing life jackets on the water. Her hope is that the message resonates enough with children that they prompt their parents to follow the law.
Released in January 2023, the books received attention on social media through conservation enforcement organizations. Many wardens across the country ordered the books to read at local libraries and schools. Since then, Garza-Mayberry has become a fixture at community events offering signed copies. She assures fans that her career as an author has just begun.
“Potentially, I’d like to create more books like these because there’s so much that game wardens oversee, like saltwater fishing and dove hunting,” Garza-Mayberry says. “I am also working on a version for younger children, possibly ABC 123 with Warden Caldwell. It will be something more fun and focused on game warden-related items to help introduce children to the topics covered in the older books.”
Until her next book release, Garza-Mayberry remains focused on educational outreach in the field in order to avoid writing something different: tickets. Focusing on connection with nature-loving Texans, Garza-Mayberry says she’d rather educate families on how to recreate safely and thoughtfully than issue a citation.
“We police recreational activities,” she says. “Some people who don’t follow regulations are uneducated or uninformed... So, I inform them with or without a book.”
