Author BiosFor Children's Programming
Valerie Bolling was an educator for 30 years and is passionate about creating stories in which all children can see themselves and feel seen and heard, valued and validated. Her debut picture book, LET’S DANCE!, was published in March 2020 and won SCBWI’s Crystal Kite Award in 2021. Valerie is the author of five more picture books (Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection I SEE COLOR; Kirkus Prize Finalist TOGETHER WE SWIM; TOGETHER WE RIDE; RIDE, ROLL, RUN: TIME FOR FUN!; and BING, BOP, BAM: TIME TO JAM!) as well as a Scholastic Acorn early reader series, RAINBOW DAYS. Sharing her books with children and inspiring them to write their own stories brings Valerie immense joy! Valerie and her husband live in Connecticut and enjoy traveling, hiking, reading, going to the theater, and dancing. linktr.ee/ValerieBolling For Adult Presentations Valerie Bolling is passionate about creating stories in which all children can see themselves and feel seen and heard, valued and validated. She is the author of six picture books -- LET’S DANCE! (SCBWI Crystal Kite Award winner), TOGETHER WE RIDE, TOGETHER WE SWIM (2023 Kirkus Prize Finalist), RIDE, ROLL, RUN: TIME FOR FUN!, BING, BOP, BAM: TIME TO JAM!, and I SEE COLOR (Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection) -- as well as a Scholastic Acorn early reader series, RAINBOW DAYS. A graduate of Tufts University and Teachers College, Columbia University, Valerie was an educator for 30 years and is active in the kidlit community. She’s a member of SCBWI, the 12X12 Picture Book Challenge, Black Creators HeadQuarters, Amplify Black Stories, Diverse Verse, two co-marketing groups (KidLit in Color and Soaring 20s), and three critique groups. She also teaches picture book classes (independently and for the Highlights Foundation), presents at conferences, and participates in book festivals. Valerie enjoys teaching both students and adults and inspiring them to write their own stories. She lives in Connecticut with her husband where they enjoy traveling, hiking, reading, going to the theater, and dancing. linktr.ee/ValerieBolling |
Featured Spotlights and Publications
Mar. 21, 2024: "African-American Children’s Books and the Journey of Valerie Bolling" on "From the Desk of Lauren Wilson"
Mar. 5, 2024: WGCH Interview with Pamela Kuhn: Orchestra Lumos Lighting the Way Once Again with Anthony Parce and Valerie Bolling
Feb. 29, 2024: WSHU Interview with Kate Remington: "Orchestra Lumos and Valerie Bolling's 'Whitney and the Wolf' Updates Prokofiev's Classic"
Feb. 7, 2024: Featured Author on The Brown Bookshelf
Feb. 1, 2024: Conversation about BING, BOP, BAM on "PBJamz" with Tonnye Fletcher
Oct. 20, 2023: I SEE COLOR Cover Reveal on "Watch. Connect. Read." with John Schu
Sept. 26, 2023: TOGETHER WE SWIM Book Journey blog post on "Writing and Illustrating" with Kathy Temean
Sept. 12, 2023: BING, BOP, BAM Book Journey blog post on "Writing and Illustrating" with Kathy Temean
Sept. 7, 2023: RAINBOW DAYS blog tour post on "Two Chicks on Books" with Jaime Arnold
Sept. 6, 2023: RAINBOW DAYS blog tour post on "Character Madness and Musings" with Jena Baxter
August 30, 2023: TOGETHER WE SWIM is a 2023 Kirkus Prize Young Readers' Finalist
August 14, 2023: "Picture Books about Swimming" (my favorites) on Mia Wenjen's Pragmatic Mom blog
June 8, 2023: Reading and Discussion of RAINBOW DAYS: THE GRAY DAY at the Book Bungalow, St. George, UT
May 8, 2023: Guest Post in Mackin Community: "Children Deserve Access to a Variety of Books to Validate Themselves and Learn about Others"
Mar. 27, 2023: Color of Change Black History Live Episode
Mar. 5, 2024: WGCH Interview with Pamela Kuhn: Orchestra Lumos Lighting the Way Once Again with Anthony Parce and Valerie Bolling
Feb. 29, 2024: WSHU Interview with Kate Remington: "Orchestra Lumos and Valerie Bolling's 'Whitney and the Wolf' Updates Prokofiev's Classic"
Feb. 7, 2024: Featured Author on The Brown Bookshelf
Feb. 1, 2024: Conversation about BING, BOP, BAM on "PBJamz" with Tonnye Fletcher
Oct. 20, 2023: I SEE COLOR Cover Reveal on "Watch. Connect. Read." with John Schu
Sept. 26, 2023: TOGETHER WE SWIM Book Journey blog post on "Writing and Illustrating" with Kathy Temean
Sept. 12, 2023: BING, BOP, BAM Book Journey blog post on "Writing and Illustrating" with Kathy Temean
Sept. 7, 2023: RAINBOW DAYS blog tour post on "Two Chicks on Books" with Jaime Arnold
Sept. 6, 2023: RAINBOW DAYS blog tour post on "Character Madness and Musings" with Jena Baxter
August 30, 2023: TOGETHER WE SWIM is a 2023 Kirkus Prize Young Readers' Finalist
August 14, 2023: "Picture Books about Swimming" (my favorites) on Mia Wenjen's Pragmatic Mom blog
June 8, 2023: Reading and Discussion of RAINBOW DAYS: THE GRAY DAY at the Book Bungalow, St. George, UT
May 8, 2023: Guest Post in Mackin Community: "Children Deserve Access to a Variety of Books to Validate Themselves and Learn about Others"
Mar. 27, 2023: Color of Change Black History Live Episode
Interviews
Jan. 12, 2024: Interview with Taylor Nichols on BikeTalk, featuring TOGETHER WE RIDE and RIDE, ROLL, RUN: TIME FOR FUN! (My interview starts at 7:44 minutes.)
August 10, 2023: Interview with Author/Blogger, Deborah Kalb, featuring BING, BOP, BAM and TOGETHER WE SWIM
August 7, 2023: Interview with Author/Blogger, Maria Marshall, featuring BING, BOP, BAM and TOGETHER WE SWIM
July 7, 2023: Interview with Author/Blogger, Deborah Kalb, featuring RAINBOW DAYS: THE GRAY DAY
August 10, 2023: Interview with Author/Blogger, Deborah Kalb, featuring BING, BOP, BAM and TOGETHER WE SWIM
August 7, 2023: Interview with Author/Blogger, Maria Marshall, featuring BING, BOP, BAM and TOGETHER WE SWIM
July 7, 2023: Interview with Author/Blogger, Deborah Kalb, featuring RAINBOW DAYS: THE GRAY DAY
Reviews
BING, BOP, BAM: TIME TO JAM!
September 10, 2023: Review by Author/Blogger, Cheryl Malandrinos
August 11, 2023: Review by Author/Teacher/Blogger, Sara Holly Ackerman
August 11, 2023: Review by Author/Blogger, Maria Marshall
TOGETHER WE SWIM
August 26, 2023: Review by Author/Blogger, Sandy Brehl
August 11, 2023: Review by Author/Blogger, Maria Marshall
RAINBOW DAYS
Sept. 8, 2023: Review by Country Mamas with Kids
July 10, 2023: Review by Librarian/Blogger, Jennifer Wharton
September 10, 2023: Review by Author/Blogger, Cheryl Malandrinos
August 11, 2023: Review by Author/Teacher/Blogger, Sara Holly Ackerman
August 11, 2023: Review by Author/Blogger, Maria Marshall
TOGETHER WE SWIM
August 26, 2023: Review by Author/Blogger, Sandy Brehl
August 11, 2023: Review by Author/Blogger, Maria Marshall
RAINBOW DAYS
Sept. 8, 2023: Review by Country Mamas with Kids
July 10, 2023: Review by Librarian/Blogger, Jennifer Wharton