Books
Unshakable Eleanor: How Our 32nd First Lady Used Her Voice to Fight for Human Rights
illustrated by Alejandro Mesa
(Balzer and Bray)
Tomfoolery!: Randolph Caldecott and the Rambunctious Coming-of-Age of Children’s Books
illustrated by Barbara McClintock
(Chronicle)
Balderdash!: John Newbery and the Boisterous Birth of Children’s Books
illustrated by Nancy Carpenter
(Chronicle)
Brave Girl: Clara and the Shirtwaist Makers’ Strike of 1909
illustrated by Melissa Sweet
(Balzer and Bray)
The Fantastic Jungles of Henri Rousseau
illustrated by Amanda Hall
(Eerdmans)
Out of This World: the Surreal Art of Leonora Carrington
illustrated by Amanda Hall
(Balzer and Bray)
Hillary Rodham Clinton: Some Girls Are Born to Lead
illustrated by LeUyen Pham
(Balzer and Bray)
When You Grow Up to Vote,
(by Eleanor Roosevelt, with Michelle Markel) illustrated by Grace Lin
(Roaring Brook Press)
Fearless Benjamin: The Quaker Dwarf Who Fought Slavery
co-authored with Marcus Rediker, illustrated by Sarah Bachman
(PM Press)
Hanukkah Hamster
illustrated by Andre Ceolin
(Sleeping Bear Press)
Terrible Times Tables
illustrated by Merrilee Liddiard
(Cameron Kids)
Terrific Table Manners
illustrated by Merrilee Liddiard
(Cameron Kids)
Tyrannosaurus Math
illustrated by Doug Cushman
(Tricycle Press)
Dreamer From the Village
illustrated by Emily Lisker
(Holt)
Cornhusk Silk and Wishbones
(Houghton Mifflin)
Dream Town
illustrated by Rick Reese
(Heyday)
Additional Titles: The Shark That Taught Me English, illustrated by Bo Young Kim (Lectura); Gracias Rosa, illustrated by Diane Paterson (Albert Whitman)
Awards and Recognition
Winner: SCBWI Golden Kite Award for Nonfiction (Younger Readers), PEN Steven Kroll Award for Picture Book Writing, Jane Addams Children’s Book Award for Younger Readers, Bank Street College Flora Stieglitz Straus Award for Nonfiction , Lupine Book Award, Armin R. Schulz Literacy Award, Orbis Pictus Honor Book
Other Honors: Junior Library Guild Selection, Rise: A Feminist Book Project, Northern Lights Book Award, ALSC Notable, Sydney Taylor Notable, Notable Social Studies Trade Books for Young People, Horn Book Fanfare, Parents Choice Book Award, Storytelling World Resource Award, Eureka Nonfiction Honor Book, Publishers Weekly Best Book, CCBC Best Book, Bank Street Best Book, Evanston Public Library Great Book, and numerous state book lists.
Select Reviews
“A stellar introduction to “the father of children’s literature,” and a glorious example of dynamic bookmaking.”
—School Library Journal (starred review for Balderdash)
“Markel’s telling — evocative and poetic — feels enchanted….(her) gorgeous description of Carrington’s paintings is the perfect summation of the extraordinariness found in all females”
—New York Times Review of Books (for Out of This World).
“(An) exuberant tribute to the illustrator who revolutionized children’s books.”
—Horn Book Magazine (starred review for Tomfoolery)
“The zingy images masterfully (and appropriately) incorporate fabric and stitches as well as old images of checks and time cards … This book has fighting spirit in spades-you go, Clara!”
—Booklist (starred review for Brave Girl)