Meeg Pincus

Cougar Crossing Just Released, Feb. 2021!

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* A Junior Library Guild Selection

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* A Literati Book Club Selection

COUGAR CROSSING: How Hollywood's Celebrity Cougar Helped Build a Bridge for City Wildlife, illustrated by Alexander Vidal (Simon & Schuster/Beach Lane Books), arrives on bookstore shelves Feb. 2, 2021.

P-22, the famed “Hollywood Cougar,” was born in a national park near Los Angeles, California. When it was time for him to leave home and stake a claim to his own territory, he embarked on a perilous journey—somehow crossing sixteen lanes of the world’s worst traffic—to make his home in LA’s Griffith Park, overlooking the famed Hollywood sign. But Griffith Park is a tiny territory for a mountain lion, and P-22’s life has been filled with struggles.

Residents of Los Angeles have embraced this brave cougar as their own and, along with the scientists monitoring P-22, raised money to build a wildlife bridge across Highway 101 to help cougars and other wildlife safely expand their territories and build new homes—ensuring their survival for years to come.

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Purchase COUGAR CROSSING at any bookseller—I especially recommend your local indie bookstore, Bookshop.org or Barnes & Noble. (Or ask your library to order it!) 

Watch the Book Trailer!

Ocean Soup Coming March 2021!

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"[A] charming call to action" - Publisher's Weekly 

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OCEAN SOUP: A Recipe for You, Me & a Cleaner Sea, illustrated by Lucy Semple (Sleeping Bear Press), arrives on bookstore shelves March 15, 2021.

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Pre-order a signed copy through Meeg's local indie bookstore here! 

https://www.dieselbookstore.com/book/9781534111189

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From the shore, the ocean looks like clear, sparkling blue but look closely at a small scoop and you'll find the ocean looks more like soup! Our oceans are filled with plastics, from water bottles and take-out containers to the teeny tiny plastic particles you need a microscope to see. But who exactly cooked up this stinky soup? And, more importantly, what is the recipe for getting (and keeping) our oceans clean?

This bouncing, rhyming story pulls no punches about how we ended up in this sticky mess but also offers hope and help for cleaning up this ocean soup.

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You can also purchase OCEAN SOUP at any bookseller—try your local indie bookstore, Bookshop.org or Barnes & Noble. (Or ask your library to order it!) 

Winged Wonders 

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* Golden Kite Honor Award Winner

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* Eureka! Nonfiction Honor Award Winner

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* Kirkus Best Picture Books of 2020 Pick

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* Texas Topaz 2021 Nonfiction Gems Unanimous Selection

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* AAAS/Subaru 2021 Children's Science Picture Book Award Top-4 Finalist

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* Cybils Awards Elementary Nonfiction Top-7 Finalist

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* Top 2020 Nonfiction Picture Books Selection - Betsy Bird, School Library Journal Fuse8 blog

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WINGED WONDERS: Solving the Monarch Migration Mystery (Sleeping Bear Press, 2020)—written by me and illustrated by Yas Imamura—aasks the question: who tracked the Great Monarch Butterfly Migration?

Through questions, and a sprinkle of mystery, this picture book introduces young readers to all the people from Canada to Mexico who figured out the details of the monarchs' miraculous yearly journey.

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Once the mystery is solved, I ask a new question of readers: who will keep the monarchs alive? This leads to back matter with many ideas for kids to take part in helping these amazing creatures and the environment that sustains them.

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"A fascinating and inspiring STEAM-driven tale." - Kirkus, starred review

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"This book should be in all personal and professional collections." - Librarian's Quest blog

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Meeg's favorite review here! More lovely reviews here, here, and  here. Activities here. Book backstory here and here.

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Purchase WINGED WONDERS at any bookseller—I especially recommend your local indie bookstore, Bookshop.org or Barnes & Noble. (Or ask your library to order it!) 

Miep and the Most Famous Diary

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* A Mighty Girl 2019 Books of the Year Pick

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Inclusive Storytime Best of 2019 Picture Books - Most Inspiring Winner

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"A beautifully realized homage." - Kirkus, starred review

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"A truly valuable resource." - School Library Journal, starred review

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"Highly recommended." - The Jewish Book Council

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Miep and the Most Famous Diary (Sleeping Bear Press, 2019) is a picture book biography—written by me and illustrated by Jordi Solano—about Miep Gies, the woman who saved Anne Frank's diary. This touching story follows Miep's journey of rescuing, then facing her feelings about, the diary of the beloved girl whose family she helped hide away for two years—which became one of the most read books in the world.

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I had the honor of meeting Miep Gies in person over 20 years ago, when I was a newspaper journalist covering her visit to the United States from her home in Amsterdam. Watching her talk to children about Anne Frank and compassion, I was so touched and inspired to share her story with generations to come.

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Endorsed by the Anne Frank Center for Mutual Respect. More reviews here and here. More about the book here and here. Teacher's Guide here.

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Order through any bookseller—I especially recommend your local indie bookstore, Bookshop.org or Barnes & Noble. (Or ask your library to order it!) 

Two New Books Coming in 2022!

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I'm thrilled to have two more solutionary stories (nonfiction picture books) coming out in 2022:​​

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• MAKE WAY FOR ANIMALS!: The Wonderful World of Wildlife Crossings—written by me and illustrated by Bao Luu (Lerner/Millbrook) - Spring 2022

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• SO MUCH MORE TO HELEN: The Many Sides of Helen Keller—written by me and illustrated by Caroline Bonne-Müller (Sleeping Bear Press) - 2022.

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See the Publisher's Weekly announcements to the left for more details.

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K-12 School/Library Market Books

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Twenty years ago, I was a young, in-house associate editor at an educational publisher working with older freelance writers to produce books for the K-12 educational market. Today, I'm one of those (older) freelance writers writing the books!

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I've authored 19 leveled readers from school/library publishers Cherry Lake Press (in their Itty-Bitty Bios series) and Rourke Educational Media, and I've written for Capstone digital education products.

I enjoy writing books for both educational and trade publishers. Having any of my books in schools and libraries, where kids can read them, is a dream come true for me.

Senna Helps The Sea Lions 

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I wrote & illustrated Senna Helps the Sea Lions (and You Can, Too!) as a fundraiser and a teaching tool in 2015. It was my first "Solutionary Story"—telling the true tale of my daughter Senna's mission to help the threatened California Sea Lions after we came across two starving baby sea lions on our local beach near San Diego.

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This book provided an inspiring introduction to the idea of being "solutionaries" for kids in grades K-6. It included back matter offering ideas on how to help ocean animals as well as fun facts about sea lions. The book's profits all went to The Pacific Marine Mammal Center. It's now out of print but it launched my picture book creator journey.

Books for Grown-Ups

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For over 20 years, before turning my focus to writing for children, I wrote nonfiction for grown-ups in books, newspapers & magazines. I still publish some essays for grown-ups in books & magazines, and my essays are published in eight anthologies, including several Chicken Soup for the Soul books. I've also been a co-author & editor on numerous nonfiction books. You can learn about these books and my writing & editing for grown-ups here.

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When I write for grown-ups, I use my full married name: Megan Pincus Kajitani. But when I write for kids, I use my shorter nickname: Meeg Pincus. I like both my long name and my short name, but with my three-part full name, people usually mispronounce two out of three!