Vivian Kirkfield


Vivian Kirkfield constantly takes leaps of faith—she jumped from a perfectly good plane with her son, hiked to the summit of Pikes Peak with her husband, and parasailed over the Pacific Ocean with only seagulls for company.
 
Passionate about helping kids become lovers of books, Vivian is the author of board books, picture books, and a middle-grade compilation of illustrated biographies that brings history alive for young readers. Her books have received awards and accolades such as Junior Library Guild, Eureka Honor, Social Studies Notable Trade Book, Best STEM, Children’s Book Council Spotlight, and A Mighty Girl Pick.
 
 Her titles include: Pippa’s Passover Plate (Holiday House); Four Otters Toboggan: An Animal Counting Book (Pomegranate); Sweet Dreams, Sarah (Creston Books); Making Their Voices Heard: The Inspiring Friendship of Ella Fitzgerald and Marilyn Monroe (Little Bee Books); From Here to There: Inventions That Changed the Way the World Moves (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt); Pedal, Balance, Steer: Annie Londonderry, the First Woman to Cycle Around the World (Calkins Creek/Astra), One Girl's Voice: How Lucy Stone Helped Change the Laws of the Land (Calkins Creek/Astra) – and several more in the pipeline for 2026.
 
A retired kindergarten teacher with a masters in Early Childhood Education, Vivian inspires budding writers during classroom visits and shares insights with aspiring authors at conferences and on her blog, Picture Books Help Kids Soar where she features new books and author/illustrator interviews. She also hosts the #50PreciousWords International Writing Contest and the #50PreciousWordsforKids Challenge. Her #50PreciousWords contest for adult writers in March garners over 500 entries every year, while the #50PreciousWords Literacy initiative has provided over 1000 brand-new children's books for local schools in need over the past three years - and this year she is partnering with CLiF, a nonprofit literacy organization that serves underfunded schools in New Hampshire and Vermont.

Publications

  • Friends Count, illustrated by Savannah Allen, PJ Publishing, November 2026

  • One Girl’s Voice: How Lucy Stone Helped Change the Law of the Land, illustrated by Rebecca Gibbon, Calkins Creek/Astra Books for Young Readers, 2025

    • Junior Library Guild Selection

    • A Mighty Girl featured book

    • Children’s Book Council Pick

    • 2025 EUREKA! Silver Award

  • Pedal, Balance, Steer: Annie Londonderry, the First Woman to Cycle Around the World, illustrated by Alison Jay, Calkins Creek/Astra Books for Young Readers, 2024

    • Junior Library Guild Selection

    • 2025 Notable Social Studies Trade Book

    • A Mighty Girl featured book

    • New Hampshire PBS Literary Award of Excellence

  • From Here to There: Inventions That Changed the Way the World Moves, illustrated by Gilbert Ford, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2021

    • Junior Library Guild Selection

    • Starred Kirkus review

    • A Best Stem Book K-12 for 2022 from National Science Teaching Association/Children's Book Council (NSTA/CBC)

  • Making Their Voices Heard: The Inspiring Friendship of Ella Fitzgerald and Marilyn Monroe, Alleanna Harris, Little Bee Books, 2020

    • 2021 SCBWI: New England Crystal Kite Finalist

    • Amazon Editor Pick for Best NF for Kids (since 2020)

  • Four Otters Toboggan: An Animal Counting Book, illustrated by Mirka Hokannen, PomegranateKids, 2019

  • Sweet Dreams, Sarah, illustrated by Chris Ewald, Creston Books, 2019

    • Eureka Honor Award

    • 2020 Notable Social Studies Trade Book

  • Pippa's Passover Plate, illustrated by Jill Weber, Holiday House, 2019 (also paperback edition: 2021 and Board Book edition: 2023

    • 2019 and 2024 PJ Library Recommended Selection

Twitter: @viviankirkfield
Facebook: viviankirkfield
Website/Blog: (Picture Books Help Kids Soar) viviankirkfield.com
Instagram: viviankirkfield