Nayera Salam

Nayera Salam is a children's picture-book author based in Atlanta, Georgia. She holds a master's degree in education from Emory University and brings more than thirty years of teaching experience to her writing, having since retired from the classroom. Her books are gentle rhyming fantasies, each carrying a clear moral lesson for young readers. In Go Away Bad Mood, a gloomy character tries to spoil the day until a fairy turns his mood around; Big Elephant Fritz and the Tiny Ants (2016) follows a colony of ants who unite to defend their home, teaching children to stand up for themselves no matter how small they are; and Woodland Fairies: Helping and Having Fun (2018) follows Linh and her fairy friends as they help woodland animals and connect with nature. Her other titles include A Cat and Mouse Pact, Loudmouth Line and Decent Dot, and Friends of a Different Kind. She has worked with a range of illustrators, among them Elsa Estrada, Bina Damodar, and Natasha Wescoat, who give her stories their bright, playful look. Across her work she returns to themes of courage, kindness, friendship, and care for the natural world, written in an accessible, read-aloud style suited to early readers. She lives in Atlanta with her husband and is a mother of two and grandmother of two.