Mélina Mangal
Mélina Mangal writes picture books, biographies, and short stories that focus on connections with nature and culture. She is the author of The Vast Wonder of the World: Biologist Ernest Everett Just, winner of the Carter G. Woodson Award, Jayden’s Impossible Garden, named One of the Best Children’s Books of the Year by Bank Street Center for Children’s Literature, and the sequel, Jayden’s Secret Ingredient. Mélina also works as a school library media teacher in Minneapolis, spreading book love daily.
Interview
What was your favorite book when you were a child?
What stands out are the autobiographies of Langston Hughes and Josephine Baker I first read in sixth grade.
What’s your favorite line from a book?
“I want to catch words one day. I want to hold them
then blow gently,
watch them float
right out of my hands.”
—Jacqueline Woodson, Brown Girl DreamingWho are your top three favorite authors or illustrators?
Only three? Definitely Virginia Hamilton, Mildred Taylor, and Rita Williams-Garcia for starters . . .
Why did you want to become an author or illustrator?
I wanted to highlight the lives and stories of people whose lives have not been represented—to write stories I wish had been available to me as a child.
Do you have any advice for future authors or illustrators?
Listen to the wind and the water and the whispers around you. Listen to yourself. Write what you hear. Write what you want to hear. Write what you need to hear.
