Susan Hood is the award-winning author of many picture books and middle grade books for young readers, including ADA’S VIOLIN; ALIAS ANNA; HARBORING HOPE; THE LAST STRAW: Kids vs. Plastics; LIFEBOAT 12; and SHAKING THINGS UP: 14 Young Women Who Changed the World. LIFEBOAT 5, a companion book to the acclaimed LIFEBOAT 12, will be published in Fall 2024. Susan lives with her family and six-year-old pup in Connecticut and enjoys spending her summers on the water—swimming, kayaking, and sailing with her husband along the New England coast. susanhoodbooks.com

Awards

Susan is the 2024 recipient of the Bank Street Flora Stieglitz Straus Award for HARBORING HOPE, an award given annually for “a distinguished work of nonfiction that serves as an inspiration to young people.” Susan has also been awarded an E. B. White Read-Aloud Picture Book Honor, a Mathical Honor Award, two Christopher Awards, the Américas Award for Children’s and Young Adult Literature, the Golden Kite Award, and a second Bank Street Flora Stieglitz Straus Award. ALIAS ANNA was named a 2023 Sydney Taylor Notable Book and was a finalist for the 2023 National Jewish Book Awards.

3 Fun Facts

1. I’ve had lunch with Big Bird.
2. Sailing on the Atlantic Ocean in a 38-foot boat, we suddenly found ourselves with no engine, lights, or navigation. We had to find Bermuda using the stars and handheld sextant.
3. My great-great-grandfather was a lighthouse keeper.