About

Danna (Dan-ah) Smith

Short Bio

When Danna was a child, her favorite “toy” was a pencil. Today, she is a poet and award-winning author of over twenty-five books for children. Danna lives in northern California with her husband, children, and grandchildren. For more information about her books and teaching activities, visit her website at http://www.dannadmithbooks.com.

Longer Bio

Danna Smith is a poet and award-winning author of numerous books for children, including Zenguin; Rooftop Garden; Wake Up, Freight Train!; and several Little Golden Books. Her nonfiction picture book, The Hawk of the Castle: A Story of Medieval Falconry, received two starred reviews and is a Junior Library Guild Selection and a Bank Street College of Education Best Children’s Books of the Year. Danna currently lives in northern California, where she is hard at work on her next book. For more information about her books and teaching activities, visit her website at http://www.dannadmithbooks.com.

Extensive Bio

Growing up on her family’s rural Utah property, Danna Smith shared her world with an extraordinary collection of animals. This untamed freedom allowed her imagination to flourish, creating stories, poems, and inventive ideas. Her father, a falconer and dedicated animal expert, frequently brought bobcats, alligators, monkeys, hawks, and even vultures into their home, fostering Danna’s deep connection with the natural world. This early immersion in wildlife and wonder profoundly shaped her literary voice.

Danna is an award-winning author known for her engaging children’s books. She has written over twenty-five titles, including “The Hawk of the Castle,” which was a 2018 Best Children’s Book of the Year, and the fun sing-along book “Rooftop Garden.” Her work includes board books and Little Golden Books for young kids, as well as fiction and nonfiction for older readers. She lives in northern California with her husband, children, and grandchildren. Visit her website at http://www.dannasmithbooks.com

Representation

Danna is represented by Tracy Marchini at Tracy Marchini Literary, LLC

Published by

Disney-Hyperion, Henry Holt, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (Clarion), Random House Doubleday, Little Golden Books, Amicus Ink, Simon & Schuster, Arbordale, Candlewick Press, Barefoot Books, Hachette/ Workman Kids, HarperCollins Christian. Digital learning material at Cognia and Nelson Education.

Book Awards and Honors

A Junior Library Guild Selection: Zenguin
Amazon Editor Pick: Best Books for ages 3-5: Zenguin
Selected for Ready Readers ’25-’26 Storytime Program: The Thank You Book
Selected as one of Reach Out and Read/Blue Cross & Blue Shield’s The Greatest Eight books for mental wellness: The Welcome Book
Amazon’s Best Books of 2025 So Far for Baby to Age 2: The Welcome Book
A 🎯Target Store Kids Book Club Selection: The Thank You Book
Bank Street College of Education: Best Children’s Books for the Year 2024: Peek-A-Boo Haiku
CBC Best Children’s Books of the Year (Peek-A-Boo Haiku)
Selected by the Kansas National Education Association (NEA) Reading Circle Commission and is on the 2024 Kansas NEA Reading Circle Recommended Titles List: Peek-A-Boo Haiku
American Library Services to Children: Notable Children’s Books 2024: Peek-A-Book Haiku
Literary Titan Gold Book Award: How Do You Haiku?
🍃Growing Good Kids – Excellence in Children’s Literature Award, 2023: Rooftop Garden
⭐Starred Review School Library Journal: Peek-A-Boo Haiku
⭐Starred Review Publishers Weekly: The Hawk of the Castle
⭐Starred Review School Library Journal: The Hawk of the Castle
A Junior Library Guild Selection: The Hawk of the Castle
Notable Social Studies Trade Books for Young People 2018: The Hawk of the Castle
A 2018 Bank Street College of Education Best Children’s Book of the Year: The Hawk of the Castle
Chicago Public Library’s list of Best Informational Books for Younger Readers 2017: The Hawk of the Castle
📰Reviewed in the New York Times: Arctic White
📰Reviewed in The Wall Street Journal: Arctic White
Featured in Parenting Magazine: The Early Years
🪁SCBWI (The Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators) Crystal Kite Award Finalist 2017: Arctic White
Missourian Baby Buzz Pick: Two at the Zoo/Dos En El Zoologico
An Amazon Best Children’s Book of the Month selection: Mother Goose’s Pajama Party
Scholastic Book Fair Selection: Mother Goose’s Pajama Party
Nominee for the Colorado Libraries of Early Literacy 2016 CLEL Bell Picture Book Award
A Missouri Building Block Picture Book Award nominee
Finalist in the Florida Reading Association Book Award: Balloon Trees
Gold Medal winner / Florida Authors and Publishers Association President’s Book Award: Balloon Trees
Selected in Alaska Association of School Librarians’ Battle of the Books: Arctic White
2014 New Books for Missouri Students Selection: Two at the Zoo
Literati’s Best 25 Books of 2017: Arctic White
A Raising Reader special edition board book: Two at the Zoo/Dos En El Zoologico
Children’s Literary Classic Seal of Approval: Two at the Zoo/Dos En El Zoolgico
Creative Child’s Magazine’s top Creative Toy Award-Seal of Excellence: A Wild Cowboy