Jeff Gottesfeld

Jeff Gottesfeld writes for page, stage, screen and television. He has won awards from the American Library Association, the Association of Jewish Libraries, the Christophers, the National Council for the Social Studies and the American Alliance for Theatre & Education. For the stage, he has collaborated with his dear friend and colleague Elizabeth Wong on several plays, including The World’s Strongest Librarian (2016 AATE Distinguished Play Award), Does My Head Look Big in This? (adapted from Randa Abdel-Fattah’s young adult novel) and now The Greater-Than-Ever American Songbag. His current focus is writing for children’s picture books. Among his prize-winning titles are The Tree in the Courtyard (one of The New York Times Best Illustrated Children’s Books), Food for Hope (Christophers Award) and Twenty-One Steps: Guarding the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier (Audrey Geisel Award.) Upcoming books are We All Serve (Candlewick Press), which is about the extraordinary lives of America’s military brat children; Honor Flight (Candlewick Press); and Fight for the Right to Read! (Creston Books), which is about the 1939 sit-down strike to integrate its then-segregated library in Alexandria, Va. A native of Teaneck, N.J., Gottesfeld now lives in Los Angeles.