Maria Gianferrari
Maria Gianferrari is a picture book reader/writer, animal-lover, and bird nerd. She writes books that honor our bonds with creatures both domestic and wild, and that celebrate urban ecosystems and the natural world around us. Maria’s newest releases are Just One Oak and Puffins!, both published in April 2026. Other recent titles include Rain and the Reading Horse, To Dogs, with Love, Fungi Grow (a Boston Globe Horn Book Honoree), Thank a Farmer, You and the Bowerbird as well as the companion books, Being a Cat & Being a Dog. Her book, Be a Tree!, won a Massachusetts Book Award Honor and has been translated into 16 languages. She lives with her family in Massachusetts in a house encircled by trees, where coyotes, bobcats and bears traverse her backyard.
Just One Oak: What a Single Tree Can Be, illustrated by Diana Sudyka
Puffins!, illustrated by Maris Wicks
Rain and the Reading Horse, illustrated by Hannah Salyer
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To Dogs, with Love, illustrated by Ishaa Lobo
Fungi Grow, illustrated by Diana Sudyka
Thank a Farmer, illustrated by Monica Mikai
You and the Bowerbird, illustrated by Maris Wicks
Being a Cat: A Tail of Curiosity, illustrated by Pete Oswald
Ice Cycle: Poems About the Life of Ice, illustrated by Jieting Chen
Being a Dog: A Tail of Mindfulness, illustrated by Pete Oswald
Bobcat Prowling, illustrated by Bagram Ibatoulline
Be a Tree!, illustrated by Felicita Sala
Whoo-Ku Haiku: A Great Horned Owl Story, illustrated by Jonathan D. Voss
Play Like an Animal: Why Critters Splash, Race, Twirl and Chase, illustrated by Mia Powell
Operation Rescue Dog, illustrated by Luisa Uribe
Hawk Rising, illustrated by Brian Floca
Terrific Tongues, illustrated by Jia Liu
Hello Goodbye Dog, illustrated by Patrice Barton
Officer Katz and Houndini: A Tale of Two Tails, illustrated by Danny Chatzikonstantinou
Coyote Moon, illustrated by Bagram Ibatoulline
Penny & Jelly Slumber Under the Stars, illustrated by Thyra Heder
Penny & Jelly The School Show, illustrated by Thyra Heder
From Forest to Sea: A Dead Tree's Legacy, with illustrations by Jamie Green
