Big Mutt, Reese's first children's book, was about a sheep dog in the badlands of North Dakota. It won the 1952 New York Herald Tribune award for best children's book. He continued to write children's books through the 1960s, but thereafter concentrated on his Westerns. The Jesus on Horseback trilogy is considered his best work. Among his many pseudonyms are: Eddie Abbott, John Jo Carpenter, Camford Cheavly, Camford Sheaveley, Camford Sheavely, and Cody Kennedy, Jr. The John H. Reese manuscript collection is located at the American Heritage Center (formerly the Western History Research Center) at the University of Wyoming in Laramie. Several of his Western stories were made into films, including Good Day for a Hanging (1959) from the story Frontier Frenzy, and The Young Land (1959) based upon a short story by Reese. Charley Varrick (1973) was based on his crime novel The Looters, His stories were the basis for many radio and television broadcasts, including NBC's Theatre Newsstand Radio Broadcast, ABC's Five Star Matinee Radio Broadcast, and The DuPont Show of the Week.