Contact Information
Website: http://www.nancyloewen.net
Book Category: Nonfiction, Picture Books
Age Group: Pre-K – grade 8
Books
Smithsonian Little Explorer series – Pebble Books, 2020.
• Grace Hopper: The Woman Behind Computer Programming.
Bright Start Board Books – Quarto Publishing, 2019.
• A Thank You Walk: A Story about Gratitude.
• Feel Better, Daddy: A Story about Empathy.
• One More Time: A Story about Perseverance.
• My Turn, Your Turn: A Story about Sharing.
The Other Side of the Fable Series – Picture Window Books, 2019.
• The Lion and the Mouse, Narrated by the Timid but Truthful Mouse.
• The Boy Who Cried Wolf, Narrated by the Sheepish but Truthful Wolf.
• The Ants and the Grasshopper, Narrated by the Fanciful but Truthful Grasshopper.
• The Tortoise and the Hare, Narrated by the Silly but Truthful Tortoise.
The Other Side of the Story series – Picture Window Books, 2011-18.
• For Real, I Paraded in My Underpants: The Story of the Emperor’s New Clothes as told by the Emperor.
• Listen, My Bridge is SO Cool! The Story of the Three Billy Goats Gruff as told by the Troll.
• Trust Me, Hansel and Gretel are SWEET! The Story of Hansel and Gretel as told by the Witch.
• Believe Me, I Never Felt a Pea! The Story of the Princess and the Pea as told by the Princess.
• No Lie, I Acted Like a Beast! The Story of Beauty and the Beast as told by the Beast.
• Believe Me, Goldilocks Rocks! The Story of the Three Bears as told by Baby Bear.
• Frankly, I Never Wanted to Kiss Anybody! The Story of the Frog Prince as told by the Frog.
• Seriously, Snow White was SO Forgetful! The Story of Snow White as told by the Seven Dwarves.
• No Kidding, Mermaids are a Joke! The Story of the Little Mermaid as told by the Prince.
Go Go Global Series – Capstone Press / A+ Books, 2015.
• People of the World.
• Clothing of the World.
• Food of the World.
• Homes of the World.
Girl Talk Series – Capstone Press, 2015.
• Besties, Sleepovers, and Drama Queens: Questions and Answers about Friends.
• Siblings, Curfews, and How to Deal: Questions and Answers about Family Life.
• Lunch Lines, Tryouts, and Making the Grade: Questions and Answers about School.
• Tangles, Growth Spurts, and Being You: Questions and Answers about Growing Up.
• Girl Talk: Questions and Answers about Daily Dramas, Disasters, and Delights.
Write This Way Series – Lerner, 2015.
• Writing Powerful Persuasive Pieces.
• Writing Outstanding Opinion Pieces.
The Other Side of the Myth Series. Picture Window Books, 2014-15.
• The Way Eye See It: Cyclops Tells All.
• Blame the Boys: Helen of Troy Tells All.
• Not the Curious Kind: Pandora Tells All.
Walt Whitman. Voices in poetry series. Creative Editions, 2014.
Language on the Loose Series. Picture Window Books, 2014-16.
• The Big Problem (and the Squirrel Who Eventually Solved It): Understanding Adjectives and Adverbs.
• The Duckster Ducklings Go to Mars: Understanding Capitalization.
• Frog. Frog? Frog! Understanding Sentence Types.
Baby Wants Mama. Illustrated by Deborah Melmon. Two Lions, 2013.
Animal Heroes Series – Picture Window Books, 2013.
• Scarlett the Cat to the Rescure: Fire Hero.
Ways to Say It Series – Picture Window Books, 2011.
• Stubborn as a Mule and Other Silly Similes.
• Talking Turkey and Other Clichés We Say.
• She Sells Seashells and Other Tricky Tongue Twisters.
• You’re Toast and Other Metaphors We Adore.
The LAST Day of Kindergarten. Illustrated by Sachiko Yoshikawa. Two Lions, 2011.
Life’s Challenge series. Picture Window Books, 2011.
• Good-bye, Jeepers: What to Expect When Your Pet Dies.
• Saying Good-bye to Uncle Joe: What to Expect When Someone You Love Dies.
The Writer’s Toolbox series. Picture Window Books, 2009-11.
• Action! Writing Your Own Play.
• It’s All About You: Writing Your Own Journal.
• Just the Facts: Writing Your Own Research Report.
• Make Me Giggle: Writing Your Own Silly Story.
• Once Upon a Time: Writing Your Own Fairy Tale.
• Share a Scare: Writing Your Own Scary Story.
• Show Me a Story: Writing Your Own Picture Book.
• Sincerely Yours: Writing Your Own Letter.
• Words, Wit, and Wonder: Writing Your Own Poem.
Word Fun series. Picture Window Books, 2007.
• If You Were an Antonym.
• If You Were a Conjunction.
• If You Were a Homonym or Homophone.
• If You Were an Interjection.
• If You Were a Preposition.
• If You Were a Pronoun.
Backyard Bugs Series – Picture Window Books, 2005.
• Busy Buzzers: Bees in Your Backyard.
• Bzzz, Bzzz! Mosquitoes in Your Backyard.
• Chirp, Chirp! Crickets in Your Backyard.
• Dancing Dragons: Dragonflies in Your Backyard.
• Flying Colors: Butterflies in Your Backyard.
• Garden Wigglers: Earthworms in Your Backyard.
• Hungry Hoppers: Grasshoppers in Your Backyard.
• Living Lights: Fireflies in Your Backyard.
• Night Fliers: Moths in Your Backyard.
• Spotted Beetles: Ladybugs in Your Backyard.
• Tiny Workers: Ants in Your Backyard.
• Weaving Wonders: Spiders in Your Backyard.
Kids Talk Series – Picture Window Books, 2003.
• I Can Do It! Kids Talk about COURAGE.
• No Fair! Kids Talk about FAIRNESS.
• We Live Here Too! Kids Talk about Good Citizenship.
• Treat Me Right! Kids Talk about Respect.
• Do I Have To? Kids Talk about RESPONSIBILITY.
• How Could You? Kids Talk about TRUST.
Four to the Pole!: The American Women’s Expedition to Antarctica. Co-author, Ann Bancroft. Linnet Books, 2001.
Highlights
I grew up on a farm north of Mountain Lake, Minnesota, surrounded by library books and cats. I’ve published more than 140 books for children and young adults. The LAST Day of Kindergarten and Four to the Pole (co-authored with polar explorer Ann Bancroft) were Minnesota Book Award finalists. My speaking/workshop credits include schools in the Southwest-West Central Service Cooperative; Rochester’s Young Author, Young Artist conference; Mankato’s Young Writers, Young Artists conference; featured speaker in the Celebration of Learning in Independence, MO; and many others.
I live in St. Paul and hold an MFA from Hamline University. In addition to writing, I teach at Hennepin Technical College and tutor students taking the ACT. From 2016-18 I worked as a preschool literacy tutor in a pilot program with Minnesota Reading Corps. Visit my website at nancyloewen.net or find me on Facebook!
Awards
Oppenheim Best Book Award, 2013. (Baby Wants Mama)
Minnesota Book Award finalist, 2012. (The LAST Day of Kindergarten)
Bank Street Best Children’s Books of the Year 2011. (Share a Scare: Writing Your Own Scary Story)
Book of Note: The Tri State Young Adult Review Committee, 2011. (Stubborn as a Mule)
Starred review, Library Media Connection, 2012. (Saying Good-bye to Uncle Joe and other titles in the series)
Editor’s Choice, Library Media Connection, 2012. (The Other Side of the Story series)
Distinguished Achievement Award, Association of Educational Publishers, 2010. (The Writer’s Toolbox series.)
Minnesota Book Award finalist, 2002. (Four to the Pole)
Honor Book, Society of School Librarians International, 2001. (Four to the Pole)
New York Public Library’s “Best Books for the Teen Age,” 1995. (Walt Whitman)
Presentations
PreK-grade 5, adults
I will base presentations on any of my books you may be interested in! My three “Other Side” series (fairy tales, fables, and myths) go over well with kids and are a fun way to explore point of view. I also welcome the opportunity to speak to adults about writing and creativity.
Fees
I will do my best to work within your budget, but here is a starting point: $150 for a 60-minute presentation or workshop (plus standard travel expenses if outside the Twin Cities metro area). That rate can be lowered for shorter presentations or if I will be doing multiple presentations in a day.