2025 HCBF Archives - Page 6 of 9 - Hudson Childrens Book Festival

Miller, Sharee

Miller, Sharee

Sharee Miller is an award-winning author and illustrator. Her debut graphic novel Curlfriends: New in Town won the SCBWI Golden Kite Award for Illustrated Book/Graphic Novel for Older Readers and was nominated for an NAACP award. She is the creator of many critically acclaimed picture books including Don’t Touch My Hair, Princess Hair, and Michelle’s Garden: How the First Lady planted seeds of Change. https://www.shareemiller.com/

Awards

Golden Kite award, NAACP award nominee, Kirkus starred reviews

3 Fun Facts

1. I have 2 cats names pumpkin and spice.
2. I was born in Greece.
3. My fave food is french fries.

Dadey, Debbie

Debbie Dadey is the author and co-author of 182 traditionally published children’s books, including the Adventures of the Bailey School Kids and Mermaid Tales series. She has lived in many places, looking for monsters and mermaids, and now resides in New Hampshire were she may have spotted the Abominable Snowman recently. debbiedadey.com

Awards

ABC Best Books for Children, Publishers Weekly Bestseller, Nerdy Best Comic Book of the Year, Educational Paperback Association’s Top 100 Children’s Authors, One of Scholastic’s Top Three Best-selling series of all time, Mighty Girls Booklist, and Starred Review School Library Journal.

3 Fun Facts

1. Met the Fonz.
2. Stood beside Alice Cooper and Mohammed Ali at different airports.
3. Fell out of an airplane on purpose to write a story.

Groenink, Chuck

Chuck Groenink is an illustrator and more recently an author of picture books. He has worked with publishers in the US and Europe on over two dozen children’s books since 2010. He strives to make books that reflect his curiosity about the world we live in. www.chuckgroenink.com

Awards

Recipient of the Fiep Westendorp prize in the Netherlands. My most recent books have been awarded Junior Library Guild gold selections, and my book Full Moon Pups is a Dolly Parton Imagination Library selection.

3 Fun Facts

1. Despite my very American first name, I am in fact, from the Netherlands.
2. I almost always put one of my cats in any book I work on.
3. I can hypnotize a chicken.

Phelan, Matt

Phelan, Matt

Matt Phelan is an award-winning, New York Times-bestselling author/illustrator of picture books, middle grade novels, and graphic novels for young readers. Recent books include The Sheep, The Rooster, and The Duck, Leave It to Plum!, Knights VS Dinosaurs and its sequels, and the picture books Sweater Weather and Turtle Walk. He is also the illustrator of picture books by authors such as Linda Sue Park, Jeanne Birdsall, and Jane Yolen. Matt’s latest book is Big Changes for Plum, fifth book in the Plum series. www.mattphelan.com

Awards

Scott O’Dell Award, Carolyn Field Award, Jefferson Cup, five-time Eisner Award nominee

3 Fun Facts

1. Snoopy was my favorite thing to draw when I was a kid.
2. I play ukulele and other instruments with enthusiasm.
3. I have a dog, a cat, and a chicken. Also, a family of bunnies live under my studio.

Hood, Susan

Susan Hood is the award-winning author of many books for young readers, including ADA’S VIOLIN; ALIAS ANNA; DOUBLE TAKE, HARBORING HOPE; THE LAST STRAW: Kids vs. Plastics; LIFEBOAT 12; SHAKING THINGS UP: 14 Young Women Who Changed the World; and WE ARE ONE: How the World Adds Up. Before launching a full-time writing career, Susan worked as an editor and writer at Scholastic, Sesame Workshop, and Nick Jr.
Susan enjoys spending her summers on the water—swimming, kayaking, and sailing with her husband, daughters, and grandchildren along the New England coast. Visit Susan at susanhoodbooks.com

Awards

Susan is the recipient of the E.B. White Honor Award, two Christopher Awards, the Américas Award, the SCBWI Golden Kite Award, and two Bank Street Flora Stieglitz Straus Awards, given to “a distinguished work of nonfiction that serves as an inspiration to young people.” Susan’s books have won many state reading awards and been honored as Bank Street Best Books of the Year and Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selections. Selected titles have been named a Sydney Taylor Notable Book, a NCTE Notable Poetry Book, a NSTA Best Stem Book of the Year, and an Amazon Teachers’ Pick.

3 Fun Facts

1. My great, great grandfather was a lighthouse keeper.
2. I was the youngest child in my hometown with a library card.
3. I’ve had lunch with Big Bird.

Lerangis, Peter

Peter Lerangis’s books have sold nearly 7 million copies and been translated into 35 languages. His nine N.Y. Times bestsellers include the entire Seven Wonders series and his 39 Clues books. Beasties, about five kids who become Central Park animals, is his latest, as is Throwback, a time-travel trilogy. Many of his novels have been Junior Library Guild selections, and his YA novel Somebody, Please Tell Me Who I Am, won an ALA Schneider Award. He’s also performed on Broadway, run a marathon, rock-climbed in Yosemite during a 6.1 earthquake, and graduated Harvard with a degree in biochemistry. peterlerangis.com

Awards
ALA Schneider Award for best book depicting the disability experience
ALA Quick Picks
Multiple Junior Library Guild Awards
ALA Best Books
New York Public Library Best Books
Bank Street Library Best Books

3 Fun Facts

1. My left pinkie has camptodactyly, which means it can’t straighten, and I have worked it into the plot of a book.
2. I sang and acted in a Broadway show.
3. The letters of my full name can be rearranged into Sergeant Peril.

Lehman, Barbara

Lehman, Barbara

Barbara Lehman was born in Chicago, attended Pratt Institute, and now is based in the Hudson Valley. Her illustrations have been included in exhibitions at The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art, The Art Institute of Chicago and the Central Children’s Room of the New York Public Library and she has shared her book work with children at the Whitney Museum of American Art. The New York Times bestseller THE RED BOOK was awarded a Caldecott Honor. www.barbaralehmanbooks.com

Awards
Some honors that my books have received: Caldecott Honor, New York Times Bestseller List, Premio Andersen [Italy], ALA Notable books, Junior Library Guild Selections, CCBC Best Books of the Year, Kirkus Best Children’s Books, New York Public Library 100 Titles for Reading and Sharing, Parent’s Choice Gold, Bank Street College of Education Best Children’s Books of the Year, The Horn Book Fanfare list.

3 Fun Facts

1. I used to work at a skating pond in high school.
2. I love all pasta shapes.
3. I put catsup on my grilled cheese. No seriously, just try it.

Janowitz, Jessie

Janowitz, Jessie

Jessie Janowitz is the author of the middle grade novels, The Doughnut Fix, the sequel The Doughnut King, and All the Ways to Go. She lives in New York City with her family. www.jessiejanowitz.com

Awards

Both Doughnut books were JLG Selections and Bank Street Best Children’s Books of the Year. The Doughnut Fix is on seven state lists, a Cybils Finalist, the winner of the Mississippi Children’s Choice Award, and is an Amazon Teacher’s Pick.

3 Fun Facts

1. I love popcorn.
2. My dog’s favorite thing is to hit ping pong balls with his nose.
3. I spent a year inside a high school in France.

Funk, Josh

Josh Funk is a software engineer and the author of 20 picture books including the Lady Pancake & Sir French Toast series, How to Code a Sandcastle, Dear Unicorn, Dear Dragon, My Pet Feet, the It’s Not a Fairy Tale series, Lost in the Library, and more. Since the fall of 2015, Josh has presented (or virtually presented) at over 800 schools, classrooms, and libraries and over 300 bookshops, book festivals, and conferences. For more information about Josh, visit him at joshfunkbooks.com and on social media at @joshfunkbooks.

Awards

8x Indie Kids’ Next List Selection (including ATTACK OF THE SCONES)
Multiple starred reviews
2024-25 Sunshine State Young Readers Award Jr. Title (MY PET FEET)
2024-25 Young Hoosier Picture Book Award Nominee (MY PET FEET)
2023 Massachusetts Book Award Must-Read Picture Book (MY PET FEET)
2022 Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance Read This Next! Title (MY PET FEET)
2020 Mississippi Magnolia State Award Short List (LOST IN THE LIBRARY)
2020 Wisconsin Golden Archer Award Nominee (LOST IN THE LIBRARY)
2019 International Literacy Association (ILA) Teacher’s Choice Reading List (HOW TO CODE A SANDCASTLE)
2018 Smithsonian Ten Best Children’s Books (HOW TO CODE A SANDCASTLE)
2018-19 Missouri Association of School Librarians (MASL) Show Me Readers Award Nominee (DEAR DRAGON)
2018-19 Indiana Library Federation (ILF) Young Hoosier Book Award Nominee (DEAR DRAGON)
2017-18 Maine Chickadee Award Nominee (DEAR DRAGON)
2017 Bank Street Best Children’s Books of the Year (DEAR DRAGON)
2017 International Literacy Association (ILA) Teacher’s Choice Reading List (DEAR DRAGON)

3 Fun Facts

1. Josh plays guitar and sings in all of the Lady Pancake & Sir French Toast musical book trailers.
2. Josh has visited over 800 schools and libraries (both in-person and virtually) since 2015.
3. Josh is vegan.

Preller, James

Preller, James

James Preller lives in Delmar, NY, and has been publishing books for young readers for almost 40 years. His books are suitable for readers from PreK to Young Adult, and include series such as Jigsaw Jones and Scary Tales, as well as these individual titles: Bystander, Upstander, Blood Mountain, and Six Innings. His newest middle-grade title, Shaken (2024), centers around a 7th-grade soccer player, Kristy Barrett, who suffers from post-concussion syndrome. Preller enjoys visiting schools, hoping to inspire a love of reading and writing. www.jamespreller.com

Awards

James Preller has received many accolades over the years, including a YALSA, and ALA NOTABLE, and New York Public Library’s Best Books for Reading and Sharing, numerous State Awards and Junior Library Guild Selections.

3 Fun Facts

1. James Preller loves hiking.
2. James Preller loves baseball.
3. James Preller loves reading.