About
Michelle Knudsen is the New York Times best-selling author of fifty books for young readers of all ages, including the award-winning picture book Library Lion, which was selected by Time magazine as one of the 100 Best Children's Books of All Time. Her other books include the picture book Marilyn's Monster (one of NPR's Best Books of 2015) and the novels The Dragon of Trelian (VOYA Top Shelf Fiction for Middle School Readers) and Evil Librarian (YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults and winner of the Sid Fleischman Award for Humor). Her next book involves a giant spider mistaken for a kitten. She also sometimes writes for adults.
Michelle teaches writing in Lesley University’s low-residency MFA program, where she is currently the Writing for Young People genre chair. She lives with her family in Brooklyn, New York.
Featured Work
Library Lion
One of Time magazine's 100 Best Children's Books of All Time.
"This winsome pairing of text and illustration is a natural for storytime and a first purchase for every collection." —School Library Journal (Starred Review)
An affectionate storybook tribute to that truly wonderful place: the library.
Miss Merriweather, the head librarian, is very particular about rules in the library. No running allowed. And you must be quiet. But when a lion comes to the library one day, no one is sure what to do. There aren’t any rules about lions in the library. And, as it turns out, this lion seems very well suited to library visiting. His big feet are quiet on the library floor. He makes a comfy backrest for the children at story hour. And he never roars in the library, at least not anymore. But when something terrible happens, the lion quickly comes to the rescue in the only way he knows how.
Awards & Honors
• One of Time magazine's 100 Best Children's Books of All Time
• A New York Times Best Seller
• A Junior Library Guild selection
• School Library Journal's Best Books of 2006
• Amazon.com's #1 pick for their list of the Best Picture Books of 2006
• Nick Jr. Family Magazine’s Best Books of 2006 ("Most Droll")
• Publishers Weekly Cuffie Award
• Oppenheim Toy Portfolio 2007 Platinum Award
• 2006 Wilde Picture Book Award
• Child Magazine's Best Children's Books of 2006
• Winter 2006–2007 Book Sense Children's Picks List
• 2007 Book Sense Book of the Year Children's Illustrated Honor Book
• Irma S. and James H. Black Honor Book for 2006
• 2007 Time of Wonder Award winner
• The New Atlantic Independent Booksellers Association 2007 Picture Book of the Year
Editions have been/will soon be published in the following countries/languages:
• United Kingdom
• Australia
• Japanese
• Korean
• Taiwan (Complex Chinese)
• Simplified Chinese (Mainland China, excluding Hong Kong and Macao)
• Italian
• U.S. Spanish-language edition
• French
• Spanish
• Catalan
• Dutch
• Finnish
• Hebrew
• Slovenian
• Hungarian
• Turkish
• Russian
• German
• Portuguese
• Czech
• Romanian
Other Works
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She Persisted: Nellie Bly
2021
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Curse of the Evil Librarian
2019
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Revenge of the Evil Librarian
2017
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The Mage of Trelian
2016
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Marilyn's Monster
2015
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Evil Librarian
2014
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The Princess of Trelian
2012
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Big Mean Mike
2012
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The Dragon of Trelian
2009
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Argus
2009
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Bugged!
2008
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Library Lion
2006
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A Moldy Mystery
2006
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Fish and Frog
2005
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Carl the Complainer
2005
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A Slimy Story
2004
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The Case of Vampire Vivian
2003
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Colorful Chameleons
2001
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Cat Hat
2001
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Autumn Is for Apples
2001
