M Archives - Page 2 of 4 - Hudson Childrens Book Festival

Madison, Megan Pamela Ruth

Madison, Megan Pamela Ruth

Megan Pamela Ruth Madison, Ph.D. is a lifelong student of Black feminism and early childhood education. She grew up in Northern Michigan, and now lives on Lenape land in Harlem. With Jessica Ralli, Dr. Madison co-authors “First Conversations,” a series of award-winning board books on topics like gender, consent, bodies, love, grief, justice, and disability. Their debut book, Our Skin: A First Conversation about Race, has sold more than 100,000 copies and is being used to support anti-racist teaching and caregiving around the world. They are both proud members of Jews for Racial and Economic Justice. Ceasefire NOW! https://www.firstconversations.com/

Awards

Bank Street Los mejores libros infantiles en Español, Bank Street Best Books, Rise: A Feminist Book List, “Read with Pride” Book Pick, Kirkus Best Book, Parents Magazine Best Book, School Library Journal Best Book, National Council for the Social Studies Notable Book, ALA Notable Book and a bunch of starred reviews.

3 Fun Facts

1. I love being Black and queer.
2. I danced ballet when I was a kid.
3. It took me a long time to learn how to read.

Miller-Lachmann, Lyn

Lyn Miller-Lachmann is the author of the YA historical novel Torch (Carolrhoda Lab, 2022), winner of the 2023 Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Young Adult Literature and a 2022 Booklist Editors’ Choice. She wrote the picture book Ways to Play (Levine Querido, 2023), illustrated by Gabriel Alborozo, and co-authored with Zetta Elliott the middle grade verse novel Moonwalking (FSG, 2022). Her nonfiction includes a biography of Temple Grandin in the She Persisted chapter book series and Film Makers: 15 Groundbreaking Women Directors (co-authored with Tanisia Tee Moore). Her YA historical novel in verse Eyes Open will be published by Carolrhoda Lab in spring 2024. https://lynmillerlachmann.com

Awards

Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Young Adult Literature (Torch) Booklist Editors’ Choice, 2022 (Torch) Kirkus Best Books of 2022 (Torch and Moonwalking) Bank Street College of Education Best Children’s Books + Outstanding Merit, 2023 (Torch and Moonwalking) New York Public Library Best Books of 2022 (Moonwalking) Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection (Eyes Open, Torch, and Moonwalking).

3 Fun Facts

1. I’ve built a giant LEGO town that includes many buildings I’ve designed myself.
2. I used to live in Portugal.
3. I used to DJ weddings and parties but sold my equipment when I moved to New York City.

Ausherman, Maria Elizabeth

Maria Elizabeth Ausherman, a teacher and independent scholar, lives in Stuyvesant, New York with her husband, Steven Taylor, a photographer. She has two wonderful grown-up daughters and an awesome granddaughter. She enjoys travel, hiking, reading, and spending time with her family, friends, and neighbors.

The author of Masters of Shape: The Lives and Art of American Women Sculptors, Behind the Camera: American Women Photographers Who Shaped How We See the World, The Photographic Legacy of Frances Benjamin Johnston, and co-author with Patricia Jennings of Georgia O’Keeffe’s Hawaii, she earned her B.A. in Geography from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, an M.A. in Cinema Studies from the City University of New York and an M.Ed. in Social Science Education from the University of Georgia in Athens, where she also obtained a graduate certificate in historic preservation and completed coursework and a dissertation for a Ph.D. in Art.

Awards
– League of Women Voters Citizenship Award
– Cherokee Rose Garden Club Award
– Next Generation Indie Book Award Finalist for Historical (Non-Fiction)
– Starred Reviews

3 Fun Facts

1. Maria wants people to love art history as much as she does.
2. Maria loves team work. She played wing on the Varsity Women’s Field Hockey team at the University of North Carolina, in Chapel Hill where she grew up.
3. Maria’s favorite job of all time was using a 1733 Danish map to find historic plantation sites on St. John, the smallest of the three main U.S. Virgin Islands.

Muntean, Michaela

Michaela Muntean has written dozens of books including many for Sesame Street, the Muppets, and Little Golden Books. Two of her most recent books include Do Not Open this Book! and Do Not EVER be a Babysitter! Both feature an incredibly crabby (but funny) Pig. She is also the author of Stay, a true story about a circus performer who rescued ten dogs no one else wanted and trained them to perform in a circus act. She lives in Ghent, New York, with her husband, author Nik Cohn, and their rescue dogs, Beau and Tess.

Keystone to Reading Book Award
Grand Canyon Reader Award
Charter Oak Children’s Book Award
Bank Street CBC Best Children’s Books of the Year

3 Fun Facts

1. I wish I could sing, but I can’t. In fact, a music teacher once asked if I could just “mouth the words” so that those around me wouldn’t be thrown off key.
2. I might stink as a singer, but I am excellent at mini-golf.
3. I went to welding school. So, if you ever need something welded, I could do it for you.

Macris, Amy

Author Illustrator Amy Macris began her career as a kindergarten teacher more than thirty years ago. She holds a Masters degree in Early Childhood Development. She is thrilled to bring these tender and true stories to children everywhere. At age six Amy dreamed of becoming a teacher, an artist, a children’s book author and of living on a farm. She doesn’t live on a farm yet, but who knows what the future holds. amydeweerd.wixsite.com/mysite

3 Fun Facts

1. Amy has been drawing and writing stories since she was six years old.
2. Amy loves to read to small children.
3. Amy makes a huge mess when she is writing and painting!

Miller, Kayla

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.

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.

McCully, Emily Arnold

McCully, Emily Arnold

I have been illustrating children’s books since 1967 and writing them since 1980. After college, I moved to NYC and worked on the fringes of advertising. My first children’s book came about by happy accident. I have also published adult novels and a Y/A biography of Ida M Tarbell, the Woman Who Challenged Big Business- and Won! www.emilyarnoldmccully.com

More biographies of Ada Byron Lovelace and 21 other important women are coming later this year.

3 Fun Facts

1. I wrote my first book at 3
2. I once acted in an Of-Broadway play
3. I eat weeds

Michelson, Richard

photo by Doug Anderson – Richard Michelson

Michelson, Richard

RICHARD MICHELSON’s children’s books have been named among the Ten Best of the Year by The New York Times, Publishers Weekly, and The New Yorker; and among the Best Dozen of the Decade by Amazon.com. Michelson has received a National Jewish Book Award, and two Sydney Taylor Gold Medals from the Association of Jewish Libraries. Other credits include two Massachusetts Book Award Honors, three Skipping Stones Multicultural Book Awards, three Junior Library Guild Gold Medals, and an International Reading Association Teacher’s Choice Award. Michelson owns R. Michelson Galleries which represents many of the country’s premier illustrators. www.RichardMichelson.com

Awards

National Jewish Book Award, Sydney Taylor Gold Medal, New York Times Ten Best Books of the Year, Publishers Weekly Ten Best Books of the Year, Amazon.com Best Dozen Books of the Decade.

3 Fun Facts

1. I founded R. Michelson Galleries which was the first fine art gallery in the country to feature children’s book illustrations.
2. I published 4 new books published in 2025, though one was sold 6 years ago, one 4 years ago, one 3 years ago, and one 2 years ago. .
3. When I was having dinner with my good friend Leonard Nimoy (who I wrote a picture book about) someone approached our table and asked for MY autograph.

Marchese, Allison Guertin

Marchese, Allison Guertin

Allison Marchese is a graduate of Fordham University in New York City with a degree in communications and creative writing. She spent much of her professional career in public relations. In her work as a writer, Allison has created plays, and written short fiction, feature articles, and essays on the people, places and events in her adopted home of Columbia County, NY where she has lived for 30 years. Allison says she has always been a writer at heart and has history in her genes. Her family on her father’s side has kept meticulous records of the family dating back to the early 1600s in Anjou, France. Her idea of writing local histories blossomed when she and her husband purchased a historic 1740s colonial home in the hamlet of Malden Bridge, NY. They have lived there for many yeas with their two cats and possibly several other previous inhabitants. The Hidden History of Columbia County, NY, is Allison’s first history book. She follows up with her newest local history book, Hudson Valley Curiosities which contains some of the region’s most suspenseful stories and features some of the most infamous people to step foot in the region.

3 Fun Facts

1. I love history and reading.
2. I ride horses
3. I have a metal detector