Giselle Potter – författare

In October 1918, during World War I, nearly seven hundred American soldiers were trapped behind enemy lines with no prospect of rescue. Allied troops did not have access to their location, and every attempt at communication provoked more casualties. Their only hope-to dispatch a trained messenger pigeon to reach help miles away. This unforgettable story celebrates courage and determination in its most vulnerable form. Cher Ami was shot down during her mission yet managed to save many lives, proving her fearless flight was a remarkable one.

From celebrated illustrator Giselle Potter, a beautiful and memorable story about the special bond between a grandparent and a grandchild.Whenever I visit my grandmother Alice, we love sitting together and telling each other stories. My favorite part is when she takes out her box of special things and we pass them back and forth. Each object—a doll, a sketchbook, shells and stones, and more—is a clue to a bigger story: the story of her life before she was my grandmother.Before she was my grandmother, she too was a young girl, with a life very different from my own. Little by little, the stories she tells and the objects she shares from her memory box reveal the many facets of her life, along with her great spirit, with its many colors and tones.Written and illustrated by the award-winning picture book maker Giselle Potter, Before She Was My Grandmother celebrates strong and loving family connections, as well as the little moments and mementos of childhood that we carry with us all our lives—and pass on to the next generation. It’s also a touching reminder of how every life is so much richer and more multifaceted than any single identity or role.

The extraordinary true story of scientist Simona Kossak, who lived among the animals she studied in the secluded Polish wilderness, comes to vivid life in this enchanting picture book biography.Though she was born into a family of cosmopolitan artists, from a very young age Simona Kossak set her heart on a life studying animals and living in their world. Once she was old enough, in the 1970s, Simona moved from the city in Poland where she was born to a cabin nestled in the wilderness. Over time, Simona grew her forest family, nursing injured animals back to health and fostering orphaned critters, all while learning their ways. Though the townsfolk accused her of being a witch, Simona remained devoted to her mission, transforming her modest house into a home for the wildlife she cared for. Her compassion and respect for the rescued animals earned her the trust of the forest animals, and their worlds became one. This moving story brings to light Simona Kossak’s extraordinary and unconventional scientific pursuits, teaching young readers that by paying attention to the natural world and having compassion for all living things, they can find friendship in unexpected places.