Laura Adams was born on Jan. 12, 1874, in Sacramento, Calif. After studying art at the California School of Design in the 1890s, she married in 1902 and spent the next 20 years caring for her family.

Armer began visiting Navajo reservations in 1923. She learned about Native American life and heritage, took photographs, and painted northern Arizona scenery. In 1928 she produced ‘Mountain Chant', a film of a Navajo ceremony. She also spent time studying the Hopi.

Armer won a Newbery Medal in 1932 for her first book, ‘Waterless Mountain' (1931), the story of a Navajo boy who feels called to become a medicine man. As the youngster learns about the culture of his people, so does the reader. The book features illustrations by the author and her husband, artist Sidney Armer. He also illustrated her books ‘Dark Circle of Branches' (1933), ‘Cactus' (1934), and ‘Farther West' (1939).

Armer wrote and illustrated ‘The Forest Pool' (1938), a 1939 Caldecott Honor Book. The story tells of a Mexican boy searching for an iguana in a brightly colored jungle.

Near the end of her life, Armer published ‘In Navajo Land' (1962), a book featuring photographs taken by her, her husband, and her son. She died on March 3, 1963.