GENRE: *Diverse, STEM/STEAM, Lyrical
WORDS: 485
Query:
Dear PBParty Agents & Editors,
Thank you so much for participating in such a remarkably buzzy kidlit event! I am seeking a home and new representation for my picture book, STROLLING DOWN THE FOREST TRAIL. Complete at 450 words (+170 words of backmatter), it is a nature story near to my heart that has received editor interest from a small press. I’m thrilled to share this book for the showcase!
When a wheelchair user heads out on the forest trail for the very first time, she stumbles upon many animals with unique traits that teach her how to navigate her wheeled world by observing, being aware, resilient, clever, and brave to get back home before the storm.
This story could share the shelf with Together, A Forest (MacLean, 2025) and The Everything Trail (Fleming & Groenink, 2025), as well as lyrical works like Hiders Seekers Finders Keepers (Kulekjian & Perera, 2022). This story subtly shines a light on the abilities of wheelchair users while honing in on natural sciences in the STEM world. As a former high school biology teacher, this is my first picture book using elements from my science background.
I was paralyzed in a car accident when I was sixteen years old, spending the last nearly thirty years from the seat of a wheelchair, a perspective that I would not change for anything. I have made it my mission to include wheelchair users and other disabilities in my stories, with pride and great passion, as disabilities should be seen as something gained rather than lost.
My quest to strengthen disability representation in literature began when I first published my multi-award-winning memoir. My debut picture book of the same title was released on April 7th, with a second book based on my memoir under contract. With personal essays featured in The New York Times, Huffington Post, Newsweek, and others, I have a growing social media presence rooted in disability experiences, motherhood, literature, and the intersections they can create.
I am a SCBWI member, as well as the second-place winner for Vivian Kirk’s kidlit contest, 50 Precious Words, this year. In addition to this work, I have a polished middle-grade grounded fantasy, as well as various other picture book manuscripts. Let me know if you are interested in reading any more of my work, as I would be honored to send it.
Keep Strolling!
Excerpt:
Round and round. Puuuusshhhhiinngggg.
I roll d-o-w-n to the forest trail.
I think I can do it, all by myself.
The ground is smooth under my wheels. Like crushed graham crackers, leading the way.
I push my wheelchair to explore.
An owl is perched above me, following my chair with its moon-like eyes.
It swivels its head.
Observing.
I see crickets fiddling safely among the springtime buds.
I’m observing too.
What inspired you to write this story & what do you have in common with it:
Having been a wheelchair user for most of my life, I am compelled to show the world just how capable people with disabilities are, and what better way than writing books for children! With a background in teaching science, I created this story to amplify a disabled main character by mirroring the many characteristics that are enhanced through showing adaptations (much like animals have) in order to survive and thrive.
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