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 Coming in November 2022!

DAISY WOODWORM CHANGES THE WORLD

​    When 13-year-old amateur entomologist Daisy gets     

    an assignment to “change the world,” she’s determined    

    to help her older brother, Sorrel—who has Down syndrome

    and adores Special Olympics and men’s fashion--fulfill his   

    dream of becoming a YouTube celebrity.

    The catch?

    If their overprotective parents find out, Daisy   

    won’t be able to change anything. 

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Melissa Hart 

​I'm an Oregon-based author, journalist, public speaker, and instructor for the MFA in Creative Writing program at Southern New Hampshire University. My essays and articles have appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, CNN, The Boston Globe, The Chicago Tribune, The Los Angeles Times, Real Simple, Orion, High Country News, The Rumpus, Brevity, Woman's Day, The Advocate, Parents, The Chronicle of Higher Education, Hemispheres, and numerous other publications. 

I'm the author of Daisy Woodworm Changes the World (Jolly Fish, 2022), The Media Adventurer's Handbook: Decoding Persuasion in Everyday News, Ads, and More  (World Citizen Comics, 2023), Better with Books: 500 Diverse Books to Ignite Empathy and Encourage Self-Acceptance in Tweens and Teens(Sasquatch, 2019), the award-winning middle-grade novel Avenging the Owl(Sky Pony, 2016), the memoir Wild Within: How Rescuing Owls Inspired a Family (Lyons, 2007), and the memoir Gringa: A Contradictory Girlhood  (Seal, 2005). 

I'm a contributing editor at The Writer Magazine, and I speak frequently at K-12 schools, writing conferences, libraries, universities, and bookstores. I grew up near Los Angeles with my younger brother, who has Down syndrome. I live in Eugene with my husband and teen daughter, where I love to run and hike long-distance, cross country ski, kayak, cycle, cook, and roam the Pacific Northwest as an amateur naturalist. 

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Melissa Hart

​Me with my younger brother, Mark.