Bobbi Miller

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I have earned my Master of Fine Arts in Writing for Children from Vermont College of Fine Arts. I have also earned my Master of Arts in Children’s Literature from Simmons College. I also have a background in folklore (having studied it at the associates and undergraduate level). Action-adventure stories were always some of my favorite reads. The western frontier, the Mississippi, the Civil War, the Revolutionary War, New Orleans, Boston, Chicago, New York, the Midwest and the Southwest, the coming together of many cultures, many languages and many stories—why, we have the BEST stories in our own front yard!

When I’m not teaching, I spend my time exploring the American landscape and the grand voices that make up the American story. The language that creates these stories is as big and grand as the landscape itself. It is this audacious, bodacious, just splendiferous landscape and language that inspire me to write.

As we know, stories tend to be organic, and sometimes outlines, research, and all the "great plans of mice and men" need to be tossed as characters take over. In which case, I tag along for the ride. It’s as much about story-building as it is about story-creating. The key to inspiration is becoming engaged in the life and landscape surrounding you. Inspiration and motivation do not come out of the ether, and are not created in a vacuum. Always the adventure. As Mark Twain once said, “Explore! Dream! Discover!”




			Big River's Daughter Holiday House, 2013 ages 9 to 12, ISBN 978-0823427529 Raised by her pirate father on a Mississippi keeler, River is a half-feral river rat and proud of it. When her powerful father disappears in the great earthquake of 1811, she is on the run from buccaneers, including Jean Laffite, who hope to claim her father's territory and his buried treasure. But the ruthless rivals do not count on getting a run for their money from a plucky slip of a girl determined to find her place in the new order.



			Miss Sally Ann and the Panther illustrated by Megan Lloyd Holiday House, 2012 ages 5 and up, ISBN 978-0823418336 Miss Sally Ann Thunder Ann Whirlwind was a woman of wonder. She could rope a hurricane, outspin a steam mill, and blow out the moonlight in a single breath. But her finest adventure was wrestling Fireeyes, a mean-as-tarnation panther whose eyes glared fire. Both fall in love with each other's coats at first sight, and lickity-split begin fighting. They raise such a racket that the moon dips onto its side and the Milky Way curdles. But neither one backs down, backs up, or backs out...until, finally, each wins the other's respect, and the two become great and glorious friends.



			Davy Crockett Gets Hitched illustrated by Megan Lloyd Holiday House, 2009 ages 4 to 8, ISBN 978-0823418374 Miss Sally Ann Thunder Ann Whirlwind can outdance any fool. So it comes as a complete surprise when Davy Crockett--with the help of a well-placed burr--manages to keep up with her. Two large-than-life characters do-si-do into each other's hearts in this hilarious tale, full of spit and vinegar. Awards and Recognition Bank Street College of Education List for Best Children's Book of the Year 2010



			One Fine Trade illustrated by Will Hillenbrand Holiday House, 2009 ages 4 to 8, ISBN 978-0823418367 How-do! How-do! Georgy Piney Woods wants to trade a horse for a shiny silver dollar so that his daughter can buy a wedding dress. First he trades the horse for a fat brown cow. Then he trades the cow for an old hound dog. He makes one fine trade after another, but will the peddler ever trade for a silver dollar so that his daughter can have her wedding? Awards and Recognition Bank Street College of Education List for Best Children's Book of the Year 2010