Media & Press Kit

2026
Christy Mihaly

SHORT BIO

Author Christy Mihaly loves history, nature, and books. She writes for kids because she believes that our best hope for the future is raising young people who love to read, and giving them the knowledge and skills to lead. Christy has written more than 40 children’s nonfiction titles on topics from hayfields to free speech to food.

Christy published two books in 2026. Barefoot Books’ America’s Founding Myths … And What REALLY Happened! (illustrated by Marta Sevilla) focuses on some of the popular stories of the nation’s beginnings that aren’t completely true. And Music and Silence: The Passion and Protest of Pablo Casals, is a picture book biography beautifully illustrated by Mariona Cabassa. Both books received starred reviews and were featured in articles published by the New York Times.

Her book WATER: A Deep Dive of Discovery, illustrated by Mariona Cabassa, was awarded a Kirkus star and a Gold in the Nautilus Book Awards. Other picture books include Our Congress and The Supreme Court and Us, which introduce young readers to the history and functions of the U.S. Supreme Court and Congress. (Albert Whitman.) A former lawyer, Christy has written extensively about civics and our government. Her picture book Free for You and Me introduces the First Amendment through poems and stories.  Other books include the YA Diet for a Changing Climate: Food for Thought (Lerner 2018, co-written with Sue Heavenrich), which explores how our food affects the environment, and Hey, Hey, Hay! (A Tale of Bales and the Machines That Make Them), a rhyming picture book about haymaking (Holiday House, 2018).

Among other awards, Christy’s books have earned a Nautilus Gold and been included on the Green Earth Book Award shortlist, Bank Street Children’s Best Books, and Junior Library Guild Gold Standard selections. Many of her poems appear in anthologies and magazines. She is represented by Erzsi Deak of Hen&ink Literary Studio. She lives in Vermont, where she enjoys walking her dog in the woods and playing cello (though not simultaneously).

LONGER BIO

Christy Mihaly started writing for young people after 25 years of legal writing (which was generally, though perhaps not entirely, non-fiction). She finds writing for kids is more fun!

Christy’s 2026 book, America’s Founding Myths … And What REALLY Happened! focuses on some of the popular stories of the nation’s beginnings that aren’t completely true. Her picture book biography of the great cellist Pablo Casals was published the same year: Music and Silence: The Passion and Protest of Pablo Casals.

Christy’s 2021 book, Barefoot Books WATER: A Deep Dive of Discovery, immerses readers in the wonder and power of water, from the water cycle to the three states of water (ice, liquid, water vapor) to the truth about water’s central role in maintaining Earth’s climate in balance. Her picture books include Patience, Patches, a fictional tale of a dog and a new baby (Dial), and Our Congress and The Supreme Court and Us, which introduce young readers to the history and function of the U.S. Supreme Court and Congress. (Albert Whitman.) Free for You and Me: What Our First Amendment Means  (2020) introduces young readers to the freedoms protected by the First Amendment, with poems and stories. Christy also published a 6-book series about contemporary political issues, “Shaping the Debate,” with Rourke Educational Media in 2019.

Other works include the YA nonfiction work, Diet for a Changing Climate: Food for Thought, co-written with Sue Heavenrich (Lerner/Twenty-First Century Books); and the Holiday House picture book Hey, Hey, Hay! A Tale of Bales and the Machines That Make Them. Beautifully illustrated by Joe Cepeda, Hey, Hey, Hay! is a rhyming book that features a farm girl and her mother making hay. Observing the poetry and magic of the haymaking process – “storing summer in a bale” – inspired the author to bring this story to kids.

Christy writes for young readers because she believes that our best hope for the future is raising kids who love to learn. She has published many books in the educational market, and written articles about science, nature, technology and history for Appleseeds, Cobblestone, Ask, Fun for Kidz, and other children’s magazines. She has also sold poetry and activities to Highlights, Spider, High Five, the SCBWI Bulletin, and numerous anthologies. Her stories and essays have been published in Chicken Soup for the Soul, Imagination Cafe and KidsVT.

A founding member of GROG, the group blog for writers and readers of children’s literature, Christy blogs about writing and books. (http://groggorg.blogspot.com.) She has degrees from Dartmouth College and the University of California, Berkeley. A music lover, she has served on the board of Capital City Concerts, and as board chair of the Monteverdi Music School, and has participated in amateur ensembles. She is passionate about environmental education, has chaired the board of the Vermont River Conservancy, and is a regular volunteer in local elementary schools as an environmental educator and reading mentor. She’s a longtime member of SCBWI, the League of Vermont Writers, and the 12×12 Picture Book Challenge.

After living in several states and in Spain, she is now settled in Vermont where she writes at a table overlooking forests and fields, under the supervision of her dog and cat. She loves walking in the woods and playing the cello (though not simultaneously). Christy is represented by Erzsi Deak, of Hen&ink Literary Studio.

Interview links and more information about the author

Contact and media information

Christy Mihaly
P.O. Box 119
East Calais, VT  05650

LINKS to other media

Press Photo

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More links

You can find online interviews with Christy, and reviews of her work, starting here:

Christy’s article, “The Probability of Purple Peas,” which won commendation in SCBWI’s Magazine Merit Awards competition, was also cited by the Parents’ Choice Foundation in designating ASK magazine a 2016 Gold Award winner. “Genetics isn’t easy to explain,” stated the judges, “but a feature on Gregor Mendel for [ASK’s] probability issue explains the mechanics of breeding pea plants quite cogently, complete with a pretty Punnet square for illustration.”