Who is Jennifer Jarnagan Riem?

Jennifer Jarnagan Riem is the kind of person who walks into a room and fills it—not with noise or flash—but with purpose, warmth, and a quiet but undeniable fire. She’s a children’s author, yes. An educator, yes. But to define her only by her titles is like trying to describe the Grand Canyon with a single snapshot. She is layered, resilient, deeply imaginative, and utterly driven by a calling greater than herself.

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Born and raised in the tiny town of Winslow, Arkansas, Jennifer grew up where wild things thrive—woods, wonder, and a fierce sense of independence. That childhood, rooted in nature and stories, became the soil for her greatest work: The Adventures of Twilla & Rye, a children’s book series that isn’t just about whimsical tree sprites—it’s about igniting a love for learning, the land, and one’s own imagination.

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After two decades in the classroom teaching elementary and middle school students, coaching cross-country, and championing young voices through yearbook clubs and community, she didn’t walk away when she left education—she just found a bigger classroom. Now, with a pen in hand and a camera slung around her neck, she brings National Parks to life for children everywhere, blending her own photography and her daughter’s artwork into stories that are equal parts enchanting and educational.

 

But here’s where it gets real: In May of 2023, Jennifer was diagnosed with POEMS syndrome, a rare and aggressive disease. Most people would’ve stopped. Jennifer wrote her second book during the time she was in hospital searching for answers. She ultimately endured a stem cell transplant. She beat the odds. She came back swinging—not bitter, but burning brighter than ever.

 

Now in a 'remission' of sorts, she’s more committed than ever to reaching every child she can. She reads in schools, hauls books to festivals, mentors new authors through her own publishing venture, and dreams big—of reading Twilla & Rye in every National Park, from Acadia to Zion. And she’s not just dreaming. She’s doing.

 

Jennifer is joyful but gritty, imaginative but grounded. She’s the kind of person who can hold a child’s attention with a story about tree sprites, then turn around and speak to a room full of adults about the reality of independent publishing, educational alignment, and the importance of hustle in creative work. She is whimsical and wise, distracted in the way only big dreamers are, and fiercely loyal to the causes and people she loves.

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She doesn’t chase applause—she chases impact. And she’s making it, one page, one child, one National Park at a time.