Children's
Gabrielle Balkan
Gabrielle Balkan uses her background in education and as a former book buyer to write non-fiction that delights readers ages 0-10 with curious and essential facts about the United States, animals, and foundational tools, like maps!
In Meet the Megafauna, she explores a day in the life of 20 super-sized animals, describing majestic mammals, reptiles, and birds in a variety of scenes ranging from play to hunt to parenting—all while using cinematic details backed up with excellent and thorough research.
Her books have been honored by Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC), The California Reading Association, Indiana Humanities, International Literacy Association, The National Council for the Social Studies Children’s Book Council, and The Texas Library Association; and received starred reviews from Booklist, Kirkus, Publisher’s Weekly, and School Library Journal.
Gabrielle grew up across from the Indiana State Fair in Indianapolis with teacher parents. She now lives in New York’s Hudson Valley where she enjoys reading detective novels, cooking soup, and hiding geocaches for other outdoor enthusiasts to find. When she’s not puzzling over how to explain complex topics to readers, she loves to lug her prop box full of dinosaur poop and homemade crystals to schools across the nation. It’s the best way to get ideas for more books! Teachers say: “Gabrielle’s presentation was rooted in student friendly, fun, and rigorous material!” Reviews say: “A standout picture book that both entertains and teaches.” — Kirkus, Starred Review.
Visit her online at @gabriellebalkan.
2024 Middle Grade Shortlist: Meet the Megafauna! Get to Know 20 of the Largest Animals to Ever Roam the Earth
In this interactive book with frame-worthy illustrations, readers will encounter 17 supersized animals that once soared the skies, ruled the oceans and prowled the Earth – and meet three more megafauna still roaming the earth today. Readers will gasp at the sheer size and power of these enormous creatures, from a 50-foot-long giant snake that could drown a crocodile to a 20-foot-long giant sloth that could uproot a tree.
2022 Children's Shortlist: Whose Bones? An Animal Guessing Game
A playful, informative introduction to bones for the youngest readers, by the author and illustrator of global bestseller Book of Bones. Set up as a guessing game with visual and narrative clues, Whose Bones? invites readers to examine six animal skeletons and guess to whom they belong. The answer is exposed in a vibrant, foldout reveal, accompanied by an explanation as to why each animal’s bones and bodies are so special. It’s a humorous, informative introduction to bones and anatomy, where young children learn about the bones in their own bodies by comparing them to those in animals.
2020 Children's Shortlist: Book of Flight
Meet ten fascinating flyers through a series of superlatives – and guess who’s who while learning about airborne animals. From the fastest (white-throated needletail) to the most acrobatic (flying fox bat), and from the best glider (colugo) to the best backward flyer (hummingbird), each master of flight is cleverly depicted in a blueprint-inspired diagram, accompanied by playful, informative text. The stunning page-turn reveal features a full-color illustration and an explanation of what makes each animal’s way of flying so special.
