100 books like How Do Dinosaurs Say Goodnight?

I am pathologically allergic to “message” books. As the former host of The Gittle List contest for self-published authors, I’ve read hundreds of children’s books. Many were “tell, not show” books. Stories with phrases like “we all should respect each other’s differences” rather than showing characters respecting each other’s differences. My recommended books are, at least in part, about diversity. Like my own book series, they demonstrate diversity through unusual friendships. Showing how characters work out their differences by learning about each other and finding ways to get along. A good story can change hearts and minds when characters carry the message–not beat readers over the head with it.

I began my career as an assistant nursery school teacher when I graduated from college. My head teacher was my mentor. She knew how to engage children with her storytelling. She also managed to inspire children with an enthusiasm for learning. She challenged each child to develop his/her own individual skills. I loved the way she was able to connect with children, and for me, she was the ideal role model. Throughout my teaching career, I tried to connect with the children I taught. My goal was to reach every child, to stimulate their desire for learning, and to help them develop positive self-esteem in a nurturing environment.

I began my career as an assistant nursery school teacher when I graduated from college. My head teacher was my mentor. She knew how to engage children with her storytelling. She also managed to inspire children with an enthusiasm for learning. She challenged each child to develop his/her own individual skills. I loved the way she was able to connect with children, and for me, she was the ideal role model. Throughout my teaching career, I tried to connect with the children I taught. My goal was to reach every child, to stimulate their desire for learning, and to help them develop positive self-esteem in a nurturing environment.

I began my career as an assistant nursery school teacher when I graduated from college. My head teacher was my mentor. She knew how to engage children with her storytelling. She also managed to inspire children with an enthusiasm for learning. She challenged each child to develop his/her own individual skills. I loved the way she was able to connect with children, and for me, she was the ideal role model. Throughout my teaching career, I tried to connect with the children I taught. My goal was to reach every child, to stimulate their desire for learning, and to help them develop positive self-esteem in a nurturing environment.

I've written over 100 picture books for children, and am best known for the Aliens Love Underpants series of books, some of which have been turned into touring theatre shows worldwide, and TV animations. My books are all fiction picture books, aimed at children aged from babyhood to seven years. I write gentle bedtime stories to lull your little ones to sleep, fun and zany laugh-out-loud stories, rhyming books, and encouraging and inspiring tales to make children smile and reach for the sky. I enjoy visiting schools and libraries via Zoom, and love to share my passion for reading and writing, to hopefully encourage the next generation of budding young authors.

I am a New York Times Bestselling author of more than twenty children’s picture books and chapter books as well as a mom to two young kids. Nothing fills me with more joy than reading to children and witnessing how a story can open up their hearts and minds. And Valentine’s Day is a holiday that brings me extra joy because it’s all about spreading love and friendship. I love Valentine’s Day so much that I’ve written two picture books about it!

With our 2.5-year-old we read all the time. She is a great critic, letting us know if the book is to be read ‘again’ or to be put ‘away!’ As well as a PhD in Education, I am also a trained teacher, having worked with preschoolers running Steiner Waldorf inspired parent and child groups and playgroups, so I am fascinated by the power of story. I try and choose books that are inclusive and age-appropriate, keeping the child in a magical space, as well as allowing for lots of laughs! I also love to share books that I am happy to read three times in a row!

I spent 10+ years in supply chain and analytics, but now I tell the stories that data doesn’t. I love exposing the hidden logic that makes the world work. Correction: I love discovering the hidden logic that makes the world work, and what I figure out, I love to share. Whether it’s getting kids interested in supply chain (e.g., how the things in the Amazon package actually get to their mailbox) or shedding light on corporate absurdity in funny novels (e.g., Firebrand), I figure that the more we can pull back the curtain and look behind the scenes, the more we can understand—and appreciate—the world around us.

With three kids, bedtime at my house is usually nuts. When we strike gold with a great bedtime read that’s funny or cozy, or better yet, BOTH, it becomes part of our permanent rotation. I love finding books that make my kids excited about story time (and just maybe encourage them to get through their bedtime routines a little faster). As a children’s picture book author, my own books are inspired by my kids’ everyday lives, and sleep, or lack thereof, is a topic that I always find so very relatable!

I may not be an expert ornithologist, but I am an avid “birdologist” to borrow a term from Sy Montgomery—one who is awed and fascinated by all things bird. Bird-watching is meditative—it helps me to be present and to feel joyful. I love reading, learning, and writing about birds too! I am the author of these bird books: Hawk Rising, illustrated by Brian Floca, Whoo-Ku Haiku, illustrated by Jonathan Voss, and the forthcoming You and the Bowerbird, illustrated by Maris Wicks. I love writing about the natural world and its inhabitants as well as dogs—another love of mine!