Today is World Read Aloud Day!! It’s the perfect day to grab your favorite book and your favorite person (or people!) and read a story! It’s also the perfect day to talk about a first story…the one that made a writer want to keep writing.
Today, I’m thrilled to welcome Melissa Stoller to First Stories! Melissa’s lovely, heartfelt picture books are a delight…and she’s a fellow “Gnomie” (her latest book, Hazel and Mabel: Two Hearts Apart was published by Gnome Road Publishing!) Hazel and Mabel just hit stores last September, and I can’t wait to talk to her about this beautiful story!
But first, a little more about Melissa:
Melissa Stoller writes to bring heartfelt connection and joy to her readers. Her recent picture books include: Hazel and Mabel: Two Hearts Apart, illustrated by Anita Bagdi (Gnome Road Publishing, 2025) and Mojo’s Return: A Story of Resilience and Hope, illustrated by Uzi Binyamin (co-authored with Lishay Miran Lavi and Mary Millman) (Niv Publishing, 2025). Melissa’s next picture book, Stella’s Special Recipe: A Rosh Hashanah Story, illustrated by Valerya Milovanova, will release from Kar-Ben Publishing on August 4, 2026. Melissa is also the author of the chapter book The Enchanted Snow Globe Collection – Return to Coney Island, and the picture books Scarlet’s Magic Paintbrush; Ready, Set, GOrilla!; Sadie’s Shabbat Stories; Planting Friendship: Peace, Salaam, Shalom; and Building Bridges: Peace, Salaam, Shalom (co-written). Melissa is a Blogger for the Children’s Book Academy, a Rate Your Story Judge, a member of SCBWI, and a Westhampton Beach Performing Arts Center Trustee. In other chapters of her life, Melissa has worked as a lawyer, legal writing instructor, freelance writer/editor, and early childhood educator. She lives in New York City with her family, and enjoys theatre, museums, and travel.
Me: Hello, Melissa! I’m so excited to have you “drop by” the First Stories blog!
Melissa: It’s great to be here, Heather! Thank you for inviting me!
Me: I love hearing about the first ideas that turned into stories that turned into a passion for writing that ended up driving writers to pursue careers in the publishing industry! I have a standard set of questions that I ask, so let’s dive right in. Tell me about your “first story.” The one that pushed you to consider publishing. What inspired you to write it. What was it about and where is it now?
Melissa: I actually have a few first stories! I recently found one that I wrote (and illustrated!) when I was ten years old. It was about the playful antics of a duck family and their friends living on a bay on Long Island, New York, near where I grew up.
I wrote another story when I was pre-published about a smart but stubborn squirrel and his friends who create mischief and enjoy adventures in New York’s Central Park (near where I live now). Both of these stories were based on my observations outside my window and on my neighborhood walks. Also, I infused the stories with characters based on my own family and friends, and situations that felt comfortable to me. Writing these early stories truly helped me develop as a writer and storyteller.
Me: How neat that you were writing as a kid! I think so many of us who have found our way into writing (or who have always pursued careers in writing) started as kids.
Where are those stories now?
Melissa: Well…not surprisingly, they haven’t been published. Yet. But maybe one day!
Me: Are there any themes in your early stories that you can see in your writing today?
Melissa: These early stories (and others) were generally about animals, nature, families, and friends. And I can see that they had similar plots and themes running through them, including friendship, family connection, and adventure. These are still my favorite themes to write about, and feature prominently in most of my published books!
Me: I can’t wait to talk about Hazel and Mabel because – oh! – what a friendship book! All those themes you mentioned are ones that I also love to explore. 🙂
Looking back, what elements of that first story made it unmarketable? Did you receive feedback on that story? What did that feedback teach you?
Melissa: Now that I can look back on those stories, I know that I made a common mistake in the writing community: I submitted my squirrel story too early. It’s just wasn’t ready. But I did receive feedback which helped make the story stronger in terms of plot, character development and motivation, and page turns. After that, I took many more writing classes, joined more critique groups, read more picture books, and really honed the craft of writing for children.
Me: Ha! Oh, yes, submitting too early is far too familiar! I stumbled on a note from 2018 where I had randomly sent out an early picture book manuscript to agents. I definitely had no idea what I was doing.
But I’m convinced that the best way we learn is by doing. So, for writers, that means writing – and submitting – even if it is too early. I’m so glad you kept working, that you incorporated feedback, and that you found ways to learn more about crafting children’s books!
Are these first stories special to you? Why? How were they important for your writing journey?
Melissa: These “first stories” are so important to me for several reasons! They helped shape who I am as a writer, and showed me that you can’t give up even when you get rejections.
Also, when I meet with students during school and library visits, I show them my childhood story and tell them if you want to be a writer, just write and keep writing! And I show students snippets of rejections from many early stories and tell them that writing is hard work and it takes time to get a “yes,” but in order to have the chance to get to that yes, you have to have determination, resilience, and perseverance. I am grateful for those early stories that helped put me on the path to eventual publication!
Me: How wonderful that you can incorporate what you’ve learned into your school visits! What a powerful message for kids – to keep trying, that hard work requires perseverance and determination. I love that you do school visits! Aren’t they the best?!
Okay…I would love to hear about your latest project! Tell me ALL about Hazel and Mabel!! How did you come up with the idea for this book? Does it relate at all to your “first story”?
Melissa: Yay! I’m so happy that I get to talk about HAZEL AND MABEL: TWO HEARTS APART. This story is truly close to my heart. It’s about two forest friends, a bear and a raccoon. When Mabel moves away, the two best friends stay connected by writing letters back and forth. And when Mabel comes to visit, they assume that things will be exactly as they used to be. But time has passed, and their connection has shifted and changed. Ultimately, the two friends use their imaginations, and their shared love of letter writing and storytelling, to get the heart of their friendship beating again.
The illustrations by Anita Bagdi are absolutely incredible and feature so many beautiful details such as an owl post, handwritten letters, and cloud shapes. And of course the story has tons of heart imagery. Upon reflection, this story definitely carries many of the themes that I love to include in my books, such as friendship, heartfelt emotions, storytelling, and making lasting connections. Also, the main characters are animals, which also hearkens back to my earlier stories.
In the end, through many adventures, the friends ultimately find their way back to each other. My first stories definitely contained the building blocks that I used much later in this book!
Me: I simply cannot get over the gorgeous illustrations and the beautiful themes in this book, Melissa! There are quite a few picture books that deal with moving away – Evelyn Del Rey Is Moving Away, The Blue House, and Yard Sale – come to mind. But I can’t think of ANY that deal with friends being apart for a span of time, then coming back together, and everything feeling unfamiliar. This book is perfect for conversations about friendship, whether at school or at home!
Thank you again for stopping by on World Read Aloud Day to talk about your first stories, Melissa!
Melissa: Thank you for having me!
Melissa is generously offering a signed copy of HAZEL AND MABEL: TWO HEARTS APART (or another one of her books), plus some book swag (US addresses, only)!!
To enter the giveaway, leave a comment on the blog post OR comment on the original Instagram post. One entry per name. Winners will be selected randomly on February 18 and the winner contacted via social media.
Heather C. Morris 
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