Nelly is the author of ALA Notable and the Irma Black Award for Excellence in Children’s Literature Winner Cat Dog Dog: The Story of A Blended Family (Schwartz and Wade at Penguin Random House, 2020, with illustrations by Andrea Zuill), which Shelf Awareness calls “a picture book magnum opus.” Kirkus gives this “clever, winning read-aloud for modern families” a starred review, as does the Bulletin for the Center of Children’s Books. Cat Dog Dog is a Junior Library Guild, Chicago Public Library Best Fiction for Younger Readers, 2021 Cooperative Children’s Book Center Choices List, Amazon’s Best of 2020 for ages 3-5, Wisconsin State Reading Association “Picture This” Recommendation List, Iowa Public Radio, and Bank Street College of Education Best of the Year List selection

Nelly’s Can’t Do! board book series published in 2021 (Bonnier UK, with art by Pau Morgan). With compassion and humor, each book shows how even the smallest of us can deal with a meltdown–whether our own or someone else’s. These funny and heartfelt stories are for every kid who’s lost it over the first day of school or which socks to wear.

Celebrated by teachers, clinicians, and mindfulness experts, How to Train Your Pet Brain (Beaming Books, with art by Amy Jindra, 2022) is a a peer-to-peer, funny, accessible and inclusive book about mental health awareness and mindfulness for children.

Her upcoming titles are Abuelito (Kind World Publishing, written with David Corredor Benavides and illustrated by Anna Sanfelippo, 2023), A Friend like No Otter (Union Square Kids, with art by Andrea Zuill, 2023), The Weather Keeper (Enchanted Lion, 2023), Big Sister, Long Coat (North South, with art by Rachel Kastaller, 2023), Dog vs. Strawberry (Random House Studio, with art by Andrea Zuill, 2024) and Sloth is Not A Baby! (Feiwel & Friends with art by Janie Bynum, 2024).

Born and raised in Paris, Nelly holds a degree in philosophy from McGill University in Montreal, where she created a nonprofit project that brings books to refugee children in orphanages and community centers. For her work she was awarded a fellowship at Dalai Lama Fellows (now in partnership with Stanford University Stanford Flourishing Project, the University of Virginia Contemplative Sciences Center, and the University of Colorado Boulder Renée Crown Wellness Institute) and Quebec’s most generous grant recognizing youth entrepreneurship and social justice.

She has taught nonviolent conflict resolution in schools and has spoken at the Preschool Mindfulness Summit, the International Children’s Book Fair in Bologna, Italy, the Bay Area Book Fair, the Ethical Leadership Assembly, and Forces AVENIR in Quebec City, Canada. Nelly splits her time between Berlin, Germany, and the US. Stay in touch on Instagram @nellybuchetbooks

Popular School & Library Presentations

HOW YOUR MEMORIES AND FEELINGS CAN INSPIRE GREAT STORIES

Venue: Classrooms, Libraries, Online Presentations (45 min)

Nelly will share the inspiration behind the story of Abuelito and how she came to co-write it with her friend David Corredor Benavides, who grew up in Bogotá, Colombia. Using the text and pictures, Nelly will talk about how memories can inspire great stories and ask the students to participate in questions that will spark their own memories. She’ll also create conversations with students around the “BIG” feelings in our lives and how many of her books, like Cat Dog Dog, How To Train Your Pet Brain, Can’t Do It! and Can’t Sleep!, were inspired by her feelings mixed with imagination. Nelly will speak about how we can use visual arts, dance, song, and writing to express ourselves, and how these mediums help us to connect with others. All of these deep discussions will encourage students to use their memories and feelings to write their own great stories.

Extension: Students will be invited to create a group collage or art piece with the names they

use for important people in their lives. They can also incorporate a map to show where the

names and people come from.

HOW TO TRAIN YOUR PET BRAIN: Taking Care of Your Mind So It Can Take Care of You!  

Venue: Classrooms, Libraries, Assemblies, or Online Presentations (45 min)

Nelly will speak about her experience in Hollywood, where she worked as an actress on popular TV shows. She will talk about how she had to learn to train her pet brain not only to act, but also to manage the stress and pressure of auditioning and performing. She will share how it sometimes got to be too much, and how she learned to cope with mindfulness techniques that, like acting, rely on the connection between our thoughts, emotions, body language, voice intonations, and facial expressions.

She will read the book with the kids and have them pick out the mindfulness methods embedded in the text. Depending on whether the presentation is virtual or in-person, the author or kids will compile these methods into a “Pet Brain Toolbox” (e.g. deep breaths, smiling vs. frowning, acknowledging your feelings by giving them a name, letting tension out of your body, compassion and active listening, setting up a routine, going for a walk, etc.). Nelly will invite students to share times when they (knowingly or not) engaged in these techniques. Together, they will fill in a “I Felt…” before-and-after chart. This will be followed by a Q and A.

After the visit, students can fill their Pet Brain Toolbox with mementos of written-down or drawn/crafted/collected mental health “tools” that work for them.

Note: Prior to the visit, Nelly will invite students to create their own personalized Pet Brain Toolbox. Depending on resources and preferences, these can look like an envelope to stick inside your copy of How to Train Your Pet Brain, a decorated shoebox, a miniature dog bed made from a sock, a folder on a computer, or even a video project!).

Nelly will also send age-appropriate prompts that students can prepare. Younger students will be invited to:

1. Draw or write about a time when they learned something new (free downloadable/ printable “I Learned My Brain to…”); and/or
2. Draw their dream pet and explore what makes a good pet/relationship.

Older students will delve deeper into the question of overcoming a challenge and what personal methods work for them. They will also be invited to think about what they’d like to be when they grow up, what some of the challenges they may face pursuing this goal could look like, and the techniques they can practice to overcome them. Who knows, exploring these techniques could lead to a whole new career, like it did for Nelly!

 

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