PRESS KIT
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2022
Christy Mihaly
SHORT BIO:
Author Christy Mihaly is a nature lover, former lawyer, and poet. She writes for kids because she believes that our best hope for the future is raising young people who love to read, and giving them the knowledge and skills to lead. Christy has written more than 30 children's nonfiction titles on topics from hayfields to free speech to food.
Her fall 2021 picture book with Barefoot Books, WATER: A Deep Dive of Discovery, illustrated by Mariona Cabassa, was awarded a Kirkus star and a Gold in the Nautilus Book Awards.
Her spring 2022 picture books are Patience, Patches, a fictional tale of a dog and a new baby (Dial) and The Supreme Court and Us, which introduces young readers to the history and function of the U.S. Supreme Court. (Albert Whitman.) Christy has written extensively about civics and our government. The picture book Free for You and Me introduces the First Amendment through poems and stories. (Albert Whitman 2020.) Other books include the YA Diet for a Changing Climate: Food for Thought (Lerner 2018, co-written with Sue Heavenrich), which explores how our food affects the environment, and Hey, Hey, Hay! (A Tale of Bales and the Machines That Make Them), a rhyming picture book about haymaking (Holiday House, 2018).
In addition to the Nautilus Gold, Christy's books have been included on the Green Earth Book Award shortlist, Bank Street Children's Best Books, and Junior Library Guild Gold Standard selections. She also has had many poems published in anthologies and magazines. She is represented by Erzsi Deak of Hen&ink Literary Studio. She lives in Vermont, where she enjoys walking her dog in the woods and playing cello (though not simultaneously).
LONGER BIO:
Christy Mihaly's 2021 book, Barefoot Books WATER: A Deep Dive of Discovery, immerses readers in the wonder and power of water, from the water cycle to the three states of water (ice, liquid, water vapor) to the truth about water's central role in maintaining Earth's climate in balance. Beautifully illustrated by Mariona Cabassa, and further enhanced with folk stories by storytellers from around the world, this book brings the world of water alive. Kirkus Reviews gave it a starred review, highlighting Mihaly's writing and recommending the book as clear and intriguing. WATER was a Gold Winner in the Nautilus Book Awards.
Christy started writing for young people after 25 years of legal writing (which was generally, though perhaps not entirely, non-fiction). She finds writing for kids is more fun! Her spring 2022 picture books are Patience, Patches, a fictional tale of a dog and a new baby (Dial) and The Supreme Court and Us, which introduces young readers to the history and function of the U.S. Supreme Court. (Albert Whitman.) FREE FOR YOU AND ME: WHAT OUR FIRST AMENDMENT MEANS (2020), introduces young readers to the freedoms protected by the First Amendment, with poems and stories. In 2019 she published a 6-book series about contemporary political issues, "Shaping the Debate," with Rourke Educational Media.
Her 2018 books include the YA nonfiction work, Diet for a Changing Climate: Food for Thought, co-written with Sue Heavenrich, to be published in September by Lerner/Twenty-First Century Books; and the Holiday House picture book Hey, Hey, Hay! A Tale of Bales and the Machines That Make Them. Beautifully illustrated by Joe Cepeda, Hey, Hey, Hay! is a rhyming book that features a farm girl and her mother making hay. Observing the poetry and magic of the haymaking process – "storing summer in a bale" – inspired the author to bring this story to kids.
Christy writes for young readers because she believes that our best hope for the future is raising kids who love to learn. She has published a more than 25 books in the educational market with Rosen Publishing (Using Math in Fashion; Getting Paid to Make Cosplay Costumes and Props), North Star Editions (California's Redwood Forest; Elephants; Moose; All about Apps), Rourke Educational Media, and more. She has written articles about science, nature, technology and history for Appleseeds, Cobblestone, Ask, Fun for Kidz, and other children's magazines. Her 2015 Ask magazine article about Gregor Mendel, “The Probability of Purple Peas,” received a letter of commendation from the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators in the annual Magazine Merit Awards competition. She has sold poetry and activities to Highlights, Spider, High Five, and the SCBWI Bulletin, and her stories and essays have been published in Chicken Soup for the Soul, Imagination Cafe and KidsVT. Two of her poems are included in the 2018 anthology edited by Tabatha Yeatts, Imperfect: Poems about Mistakes, an Anthology for Middle Schoolers.
A founding member of GROG, the group blog for writers and readers of children’s literature, Christy blogs about writing and books. (http://groggorg.blogspot.com.) She has degrees from Dartmouth College and the University of California, Berkeley. A music lover, she has served on the board of Capital City Concerts, and as board chair of the Monteverdi Music School, and has participated in amateur ensembles. She is passionate about environmental education, has chaired the board of the Vermont River Conservancy, and is a regular volunteer in local elementary schools as an environmental educator and reading mentor. She’s a longtime member of SCBWI, the League of Vermont Writers, and the 12x12 Picture Book Challenge.
After living in several states and in Spain, she is now settled in Vermont where she writes at a table overlooking forests and fields, under the supervision of her dog and cat. She loves walking in the woods and playing the cello (though not simultaneously). Christy is represented by Erzsi Deak, of Hen&ink Literary Studio.
Interview links and more information about the author:
- Six Questions about Writing, April 2022
- Collaborating with Kids in Writing a Book, March 2022
- Activities to Engage Kids with WATER, Nov. 2021
- Interview on "ReFoReMo" (Reading for Research) May 2020
- Interview on "Writers' Rumpus" April 2020
- Interview on "The Kids Are All Write" by Nancy Churnin, April 2020
- Radio interview, Vermont Public Radio, August 2018
- Bear Pond Books, Montpelier, Vermont, blog post: "Notes from 'Don't Quit Your Day Job,'" regarding presentation by author. (2017)
- Interview on the blog ReaderKidz, http://www.readerkidz.com/2016/02/09/author-interview-christy-mihaly-and-the-u-s-national-parks/; http://www.readerkidz.com/2016/02/11/part-2-author-interview-with-christy-mihaly/. (2016)
- Interview with the author on Archimedes Notebook blog. (2016)
- Blog by the author, "Opportunities in Writing for the Educational Market," (post with more than 6,000 page views.) (2016)
- Published essay by author about homeschooling, "Life Lessons," in Kids VT, (2013)
Contact and media information:
Christy Mihaly
P.O. Box 119
East Calais, VT 05650
LINKS to other media:
blogging at GROG: http://groggorg.blogspot.com
Instagram: christymihaly
Twitter: @CMwriter4kids
Facebook Author page: https://www.facebook.com/christymihaly/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christy-mihaly-05344134
Amazon author page: https://www.amazon.com/-/e/B01KXVXGME
Goodreads author page: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/15623111.Christy_Mihaly
