Author Archives - Page 13 of 29 - Hudson Childrens Book Festival

Miller, Kayla

Kayla Miller is the author and illustrator of the bestselling Click series of graphic novels as well as the co-author of it’s spin-off series, Besties. www.kayla-miller.com

Awards

Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection, Little Maverick Reading List Selection, One of Parents Magazine’s 30 Best Kids’ Books of 2019, One of Barnes & Noble’s Best Books of 2020, An Amazon Teachers’ Pick, One of A Mighty Girl’s Best Books of the Year 2019 and 2020, New York Times Bestseller, Publisher’s Weekly Bestseller, Indie Bestseller, USA Today Best Seller.

3 Fun Facts

1. I have three cats and a turtle.
2. I can read and write upside down.
3. I’m not a morning person, but breakfast is my favorite meal.

Parra, John

John Parra is an award-winning artist, illustrator, author, and educator, best known for his Latino themed children’s picture books. https://www.johnparraart.com/

Awards

CSMCL’s Best Multicultural Books of 2024, Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection, NY Society of Illustrators, Original Art Show Selection, “Starred Review” Kirkus Review

3 Fun Facts

I like to play guitar, travel, and eat good food.

Jackson, Tiffany D.

Tiffany D. Jackson is the author of critically acclaimed YA novels including the Coretta Scott King — John Steptoe New Talent Award-winning Monday’s Not Coming, the NAACP Image Award-nominated Allegedly, and her ode to 90’s hip-hop Let Me Hear A Rhyme. www.writeinbk.com

CSK John Steptoe for New Talent
Walter Dean Myers Honor

3 Fun Facts

1. I’m obsessed with horror movies
2. Love cookie dough
3. I don’t do clowns.

Venkatraman, Padma

Padma Venkatraman is the author of The Bridge Home, Born Behind Bars, A Time to Dance, Island’s End and Climbing the Stairs. Her books have sold over ¼ million copies, received over 20 starred reviews, and won numerous awards: Walter Dean Myers Award, South Asia Book Award, Golden Kite, ALA Notable etc. Her poetry has been published in Poetry Magazine and nominated for a Pushcart Prize. An oceanographer by training, Padma loves teaching and sharing her love for reading and writing with others. Her latest novel, Safe Harbor, is about a girl who rescues a stranded seal in Rhode Island, where Padma lives with her family.
www.padmavenkatraman.com

Awards
Padma Venkatraman is the winner of a Walter Dean Myers Award for Outstanding Children’s Literature, Golden Kite, Crystal Kite, three South Asia Book Awards, two Paterson Prizes, Julia Ward Howe and Nerdy Book Awards; recipient of Malka Penn, Sakura Medal, Prix des Libraries, Storytelling World and Litterado honors, etc. Her novels have appeared on numerous best book lists (ALA Notable, Kirkus, Booklist Editor’s Choice, NYPL, Chicago Public Library, Bank Street, CSMCL and many more).

3 Fun Facts

1. I play Indian classical music, like Geetha, the protagonist of Safe Harbor.
2. I was the only BIPOC female in my incoming graduate oceanography class in the 1990’s.
3. I was inspired to write Safe Harbor by a seal I came across while strolling along the beautiful New England beach near my home.

Laiz, Jana

Jana Laiz is a writer with a purpose. The author of the triple award-winning novel, Weeping Under This Same Moon, Moonbeam Silver Medal Winner, The Twelfth Stone, Elephants of the Tsunami, “A Free Woman On God’s Earth, The True Story of Elizabeth “Mumbet” Freeman, The Slave Who Won Her Freedom, Thomas & Autumn, Simon Says ~ Tails Told By The Red Lion Inn Ambassador, Billy Budd in the Breadbox, The Story of Herman Melville & Eleanor, and Blanket of Stars, Jana believes that honoring diversity can change the world. She is the very first Writer-In-Residence at Herman Melville’s beloved Arrowhead. www.janalaiz.com

ForeWord review Gold Medal Winner
Moonbeam Children’s Book awards Silver medalist
International Reading Association Notable

3 Fun Facts

1. I have a Pitbull
2. I play the Irish penny whistle and the harp
3. I was the Jacks Champion in high school

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.

Dyckman, Ame

Ame Dyckman is the goofy l’il award-winning picture book/board book author of BOY + BOT; TEA PARTY RULES; WOLFIE THE BUNNY; HORRIBLE BEAR!; YOU DON’T WANT A UNICORN!; READ THE BOOK, LEMMINGS!; MISUNDERSTOOD SHARK; MISUNDERSTOOD SHARK: FRIENDS DON’T EAT FRIENDS; DANDY; the WEE BEASTIES board book series (HUGGY THE PYTHON HUGS TOO HARD; ROARY THE LION ROARS TOO LOUD; TOUCHY THE OCTOPUS TOUCHES EVERYTHING); and Ame’s latest picture book, THAT’S LIFE! Come by and say, “HI!” www.amedyckman.com

New York Times Bestseller
Amazon Best Book of the Month
Kids’ Indie Next List
Ezra Jack Keats New Writer Award
Junior Library Guild Selection
Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library Selection
Parents Magazine Best Fictional Picture Book
Bank Street College Best Children’s Book
Etc.

3 Fun Facts

1. I change my hair color more frequently than some people change their socks. (And don’t lend your shoes to those people. EW!)
2. When I was a kid, a moose chased me. So now I guess I’m “It.” I love chatting with readers but if THAT moose shows up at our Festival, I’m gonna hafta go chase it.
3. One year, I came in last place in our neighborhood’s BBQ Ribs Cook-Off and everybody laughed at me. So for the entire next year, I practiced cooking ribs like crazy. “What’s for breakfast?” “Ribs.” And that year, I won first place!
(This is the personality you’re dealing with here, folks!)

Albee, Sarah

Sarah Albee is the New York Times bestselling author of nonfiction books for kids. Her latest title is called Troublemakers in Trousers: Women and What They Wore to Get Things Done. Other popular titles include Fairy Tale Science; Accidental Archaeologists: True Stories of Unexpected Discoveries; North America: A Foldout Graphic History; Dog Days of History; Poison: Deadly Deeds, Perilous Professions, and Murderous Medicines; Bugged: How Insects Changed History; Poop Happened: A History of the World from the Bottom Up; and Alexander Hamilton: A Plan for America. She lives in Connecticut with her family. www.sarahalbeebooks.com

Awards
– Eureka! Gold and Silver medals
– Bank Street Best Books
– NCSS Best Books [National Council for Social Studies] – Nerdy Book Club awards
– Starred reviews
– Connecticut Book Award Winner

3 Fun Facts

1. Sarah wants kids to love history as much as she does. Many of her books are a mash-up of history and science.
2. Sarah once played semi-pro basketball in Cairo, Egypt.
3. Sarah’s first job was working at Sesame Street.

Collins, Leroy

I grew up Hudson NY. I graduated from Hudson High in 1995. I was the new york state rushing leader while attending Hudson. I attended Dean junior college, Alfred st college and the University of Louisville. I played football at each school. I also have an Associate, Bachelor, and Masters degrees. I live in Fulton NY and currently I am married with 3 boys. This true story follows a young man’s journey as he battles back from injuries sustained in a tragic automobile accident. From the vantage point of his wheelchair an NFL game on TV inspires him to dream the impossible.

3 Fun Facts

1. I was in a terrible car accident
2. I grew up in Hudson
3. I played football in the NFL

Demas, Corinne

Corinne Demas is the award-winning author of thirty-eight books, including numerous picture books (The Perfect Tree, Saying Goodbye to Lulu, The Littlest Matryoshka, The Disappearing Island,, novels (The Road Towards Home), and a memoir (Eleven Stories High, Growing Up in Stuyvesant Town). She is the co-author, with Artemis Roehrig, of The Grumpy Pirate, Are Pirates Polite?, Do Doodlebugs Doodle? Amazing Insect Facts, Does a Fiddler Crab Fiddle?, and Do Jellyfish Like Peanut Butter? Amazing Sea Creature Facts. She is a professor Emerita of English at Mount Holyoke College and lives in Western Massachusetts and on Cape Cod. www.corinnedemas.com

Awards
Two National Endowment for the Arts Creative Writing Fellowships, Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Fellowship, ASPCA Henry Bergh Children’s Book Award (Saying Goodbye to Lulu), Finalist, Massachusetts Book Award, (The Disappearing Island), California Reading Association Silver Eureka Award (Do Doodlebugs Doodle? Amazing Insect Facts) Best Fiction for Young Adults nomination Young Adult Services Association , ALA, MassBook Awards “Must Read” YA list, Society of School Librarians International Book Awards Honor Book (Everything I Was), Selected for “Books for the Teen Age” by The New York Public Library (If Ever I Return) Selected by the Children’s Book Committee at Bank Street College of Education (starred )“Best Children’s Books for the Year” (The Disappearing Island) and The Boy Who was Generous with Salt), Wyoming Library Association’s Buckaroo Book Award Winner, Best Book Award Gold Seal from the Oppenheim Toy Portfolio (Saying Goodbye to Lulu

3 Fun Facts

1. I have two miniature donkeys
2. Two of my picture books have a character name Nina.
3. I once found a note in a bottle that had washed up on the beach.