April Pulley Sayre has authored over 55 natural history books for children and adults. Her read-aloud nonfiction books, known for their exuberant language, have been translated into French, Dutch, Japanese, and Korean. In 2008 Sayre accepted the Theodor “Seuss” Geisel Honor given by the American Library Association for her book with Steve Jenkins, Vulture View (Holt). Her Stars Beneath Your Bed: The Surprising Story of Dust won the AAAS/Subaru/SB&F Prize for Excellence in Science Books and was named an 2006 ALA Notable Children’s Book. One Is a Snail, Ten Is a Crab was also an ALA Notable. The Bumblebee Queen marked her third win of the John Burroughs Award.
Sayre has eaten piranha in the Peruvian Amazon, but for the 2011 bookblast she’ll be focusing on something closer to home: vegetables. 
Rah, Rah, Radishes: A Vegetable Chant (BLB/S&S, June 2011) is a celebration of words, colors, shapes, and nutritious farmer’s market foods. She’ll introduce a booktalk, activity, and vegetable “pairings”—other vegetable books and activities to build a seasonal story time.
She’ll also be sharing ways librarians can use her nature books, such as Turtle, Turtle, Watch Out! (Charlesbridge) to jumpstart activities for libraries and classrooms.
Sayre is a speaker in the fields of writing, science literacy, children’s literature, and gardening for wildlife. She introduces students and teachers to the writing process, the joy of words, the diversity of rain forests, and how thoughtful ecological landscaping can help butterflies, birds, and other wild creatures survive in a changing world. Sayre holds a B.A. in biology from Duke University and an M.F.A. in Creative Writing from Vermont College.
Occasionally, she also writes a bit o’ fiction. During ALA she’ll be celebrating, but not covering, her recent fictional animal picture book, If You’re Hoppy (Greenwillow, Feb 2011).To pair it with some nonfiction photos and activities, see her blog post about hoppy animals on the Under the Greenwillow blog.
