About
I've written the picture books: MONSTER GOOSE NURSERY RHYMES (Pelican), WHEN YOU GIVE AN IMP A PENNY (Pelican), MABEL AND THE QUEEN OF DREAMS (Schiffer), LITTLE RED CUTTLEFISH (Pelican), CAP’N REX & HIS CLEVER CREW (Sterling), GOOD EGG AND BAD APPLE (Schiffer), HOW THE SQUID GOT TWO LONG ARMS (Pelican), ALICE’S MAGIC GARDEN (Familius), 2 PIRATES + 1 ROBOT (Kane Miller), I AM SMOKE (Tilbury House, Kirkus star, ALA Notable Children’s Book), I AM GRAVITY (Tilbury House), I AM LIGHT (Tilbury House), I AM WIND (Tilbury House), and A BOOK ABOUT NOTHING (Familus).
My short stories have appeared in Daily Science Fiction, Weird Tales, Pseudopod, Metastellar, Titan Books, Highlights for Children, Ladybug Magazine, and anthologies from Penguin Random House, Albert Whitman, Blackstone Publishing, Third Flatiron, Baen Books, and elsewhere.
I've edited nine anthologies.
Featured Work
Combat Monsters: Untold Tales of World War II
New research has uncovered deeply buried military secrets—both the Allied and Axis military operations during WWII included monsters. Did the Soviets use a dragon to win the Battle of Kursk? Did a vampire fight for the Canadians in Holland? Did the US drop the second atomic bomb on a kaiju?
This collection takes real events from World War II and injects them with fantastical creatures that mirror the “unreality” of war itself. Each story—and two poems—feature mythical, mystical, and otherwise unexplainable beings that change the course of history. Dragons rise and fall, witches cast deadly spells, mermaids reroute torpedoes, and all manner of “monsters” intervene for better or worse in the global turmoil of WWII.
Other Works
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Death Maidens: Off-Duty Valkyries
2027
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Waterborne
2026
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I Am Gravity
2024
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Red Stars and Shattered Shields
2024
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Wink
2024
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The Festival of Lights
2024
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The Hitherto Secret Experiments of Marie Curie
2023
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Coming of Age: 13 B'Nai Mitzvah Stories
2022
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I Am Smoke
2021
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2 Pirates + 1 Robot
2019
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Alice's Magic Garden
2018
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Good Egg and Bad Apple
2018
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How the Squid Got Two Long Arms
2018
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Cap'n Rex & His Clever Crew
2017
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When You Give an Imp a Penny
2016
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Mabel and the Queen of Dreams
2016
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Little Red Cuttlefish
2016
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Monster Goose Nursery Rhymes
2015
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Beyond the Pale
2014
Awards and Recognition
- I AM SMOKE was well-received: Kirkus starred review, ALA Notable Children’s Book 2022, School Library Journal’s 100 Scope Notes – The Most Astonishingly Unconventional Books of 2021, Kirkus 150 Most Anticipated Fall Books, National Council for the Social Studies 2022 Notable Social Studies Trade Books for Young People, Children’s Book Council’s Sept. 2021 list of anticipated bestsellers, San Diego Union-Tribune’s Fall arts preview 2021: Top book picks this season, School Library Journal’s Predictions! NYT Best Illustrated Children’s Books 2021, Evanston Public Library’s 101 Great Books for Kids List of 2021, School Library Journal’s Fuse 8 Production – 2021 Science and Nature Books, New York Public Library’s Best Books for Kids 2021, School Library Journal’s Fuse 8 Production – Best 2021 Nonfiction Picture Books, Evanston Public Library’s Blueberry Award Honor, Winner of the Book Launch Award from the Society of Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators, and others.
