She has been nominated for numerous awards such as the Edgar Allan Poe Award, the Black-Eyed Susan Award, the Red Clover Award, and the Beehive Award. Rosemary Wells's books have received starred reviews from Kirkus Reviews, Publishers Weekly, Booklist, and Horn Book Magazine. My Havana: Memories of a Cuban Boyhood, written with Secundino Fernandez, illustrated by Peter Ferguson.The Christmas Mystery (illustrator only).McDuff's New Friend reissued as McDuff's Christmas.Max & Ruby in Pandora's Box – Max & Ruby's First Greek Myth.Getting to Know You: Rodgers and Hammerstein Favorites.Two Sisters and Some Hornets (1972), by Beryl Epstein and Dorrit Davis.A Hot Thirsty Day (1971), by Marjorie W.Impossible, Possum (1971), written by Ellen Conford.Library of Congress catalog records imply that these six are children's picture books. Many of the animal characters, such as those in Max & Ruby, interact with one another much as humans would, while others such as McDuff – a West Highland Terrier – take on a more realistic role as the adopted pet of a young couple. At the book's conclusion, she gains acceptance by hosting a school luncheon where everyone brings food native to their family. It is about a young Japanese kitten who is ostracized when she brings sushi in her school lunch. She especially misses doing origami with them. Ever since Yoko moved from Japan with her mother, she's been missing her Obaasan and Ojisan (grandma and grandpa). For example, Yoko tackles the thorny topic of racism. Buy a cheap copy of Yoko's Paper Cranes book by Rosemary Wells.

In the children's journal Stone Soup, Wells explained that she writes using animals because it allows her to address sophisticated, controversial topics in way children can understand and adults can accept. A common theme in Rosemary Wells' stories is the use of animal characters rather than humans.

Yoko's Paper Cranes by Rosemary Wells