Melissa Stewart is an American author of children's books about science and nature and a leading researcher in the field of nonfiction literature for young people. She has published more than 200 books for children as well as several books for educators.
Early life and education Stewart grew up in Massachusetts and attended Hampshire Regional High School. She received a Bachelor's degree in biology from Union College and a master's degree in science journalism from New York University.
Career Following graduation, she worked as an editor of high school science textbooks for a small book packager in New York City. Later, she moved to Connecticut and edited traditional nonfiction science books for Franklin Press and Children's Press, two imprints owned by Grolier/Hachette and then Scholastic.
During this period, she also worked as a freelance science writer, publishing dozens of magazine articles for children and adults. Her first book, Life without Light: A Journey to Earth's Dark Ecosystems was published in 1998 and was named a New York Public Library Best Book for Teens.
In 2000, she returned to Massachusetts and began writing articles and books full-time. Most of her early books were traditional nonfiction titles for the school and library market. Her first picture book, A Place for Butterflies, was published in 2006 and received the Green Earth Book Award. It has been revised twice and sold more than 350,000 copies. Since then, Melissa has published 25 expository literature picture books as well as traditional, browsable, and active nonfiction titles. Her books have been translated into more than a dozen languages.
She also co-authored, with educator Nancy Chesley, Perfect Pairs: Using Fiction & Nonfiction Picture Books to Teach Life Science, K-2 and Perfect Pairs: Using Fiction & Nonfiction Picture Books to Teach Life Science, Grades 3-5.
In 2012, she began researching nonfiction literature for young people and, in 2017, developed the Nonfiction Family Tree, which evolved into the 5 Kinds of Nonfiction classification system and was fully described in 5 Kinds of Nonfiction: Enriching Reading and Writing Instruction with Children's Books, co-written by educator Marlene Correia. (,) She also edited the anthology Nonfiction Writers Dig Deep: 50 Award-winning Authors Share the Secret of Engaging Writing and co-authored the Position Statement on the Role of Nonfiction Literature, K-12, which was adopted by the National Council of Teachers of English in 2023.
Her essays, articles, and op-eds on nonfiction literature and literacy have appeared in Book Links, Booklist, Children and Libraries, Knowledge Quest, Language Arts, Publishers Weekly, Reading Rockets, The Reading Teacher, School Library Connection, School Library Journal, Science, Science & Children, The Utah Journal of Literacy, and The Washington Post.
Awards and honors Fifteen of Stewart's books are Junior Library Guild selections: Under the Snow (2009), No Monkeys, No Chocolate (2013), Feathers: Not Just for Flying (2014), Zoom In on Grasshoppers (2015), Las Serpientes (Snakes) (2016), A Seed is the Start (2019), Los Animales Más Mortales (Deadliest Animals), Seashells (2019), Summertime Sleepers (2021), Fourteen Monkeys (2021), Tree Hole Homes (2022),Mega-Predators of the Past (2022), Meet the Mini-Mammals (2025),From Bam! to Burp! A Carbon Atom’s Never-ending Journey through Space and Time and YOU (2025), and Monarch to Mourning Cloak: A Butterfly Journal.
The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books included Feathers: Not Just for Flying in their list of the best books of 2014. +Awards for Stewart's booksYearTitleAwardResultRef.2007A Place for ButterfliesGreen Earth Book AwardWinner2009Under the SnowMassachusetts Book AwardFinalist2010National Geographic Readers: AntsCybils Award for Easy ReadersFinalistA Place for BirdsGreen Earth Book AwardHonorUnder the SnowCalifornia Eureka! Book AwardHonorUnder the SnowCharlotte Zolotow AwardCommend2011A Place for FrogsGreen Earth Book AwardHonor2012A Place for BatsAmerican Academy of Arts and Sciences/Subaru Prize for Excellence in Science BooksFinalistCorrell Book Award for Excellence in Informational TextWinner2013 A Place for BatsGreen Earth Book AwardHonor A Place for TurtlesMassachusetts Book AwardFinalistSigurd Olson Nature Writing Award for Children's LiteratureWinner2014Beneath the SunCharlotte Zolotow AwardCommendFeathers: Not Just for FlyingCybils Award for Elementary and Middle GradeWinnerNo Monkeys, No ChocolateCook Prize for Best STEM Picture BookFinalistA Place for TurtlesGreen Earth Book AwardWinner2015Feathers: Not Just for FlyingAssociation for Library Service to Children Notable Children's BooksSelectionJohn Burroughs Riverby AwardWinner2017DroughtsAmerican Association for the Advancement of Science/Subaru Prize for Excellence in Science BooksFinalist2018Can an Aardvark Bark?Colorado Book AwardsWinnerPipsqueaks, Slowpokes, and Stinkers: Celebrating Animal Underdogs California Eureka! Book AwardWinner Massachusetts Book AwardHonor Pennsylvania Keystone to Reading Book AwardFinalist SCBWI Golden Kite AwardHonor2019Seashells: More Than a HomeCybils Award for ElementaryFinalistPennsylvania Keystone to Reading Book AwardFinalist2020Seashells: More Than a HomeCorrell Book Award for Excellence in Informational TextWinner2021Fourteen Monkeys: A Rain Forest RhymeCalifornia Eureka Book AwardHonor2022Fourteen Monkeys: A Rain Forest RhymeWashington State Towner Book AwardHonorSummertime SleepersAssociation for Library Service to Children Notable Children's BooksSelectionPennsylvania Keystone to Reading Book AwardFinalistRobert F. Sibert Informational Book AwardHonor2023Summertime Sleepers: Animals that EstivateOklahoma Donna Norvell AwardWinnerWhale Fall: Exploring an Ocean-floor EcosystemAmerican Association for the Advancement of Science/Subaru Prize for Excellence in Science BooksWinner2024Tree Hole Homes: Daytime Dens and Nighttime NooksYellowstone Jackhammer Picture Book AwardFinalistWhale Fall: Exploring an Ocean-floor EcosystemAssociation for Library Service to Children Notable Children's BooksSelection
References
External links Official website