Explore History

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Take a quick look at what you can find in BEFORE I LIVED HERE.

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Hello, I’m Stacy!

Let’s explore new books together


I’m a children’s book author who is passionate about history, research, and exploring new topics like I did as a newspaper journalist. My debut picture book is BEFORE I LIVED HERE, illustrated by Victo Ngai, published by Neal Porter Books/Holiday House  . (READ MORE…)

Perfect to jumpstart a conversation or class project

Teachers use Before I Lived Here in the classroom to study local history

While set in a Colorado neighborhood, this story allows children to explore their own community and who lived on the land before their own house.

  • Layers of History
  • Conversation Starter
  • Beautiful Illustrations
  • Perfect Read Aloud Together
Get the Book

New York Public Library
2025 Best Books

Kirkus Reviews
2025 Best Books

2027 Finalist Georgia Children’s Book Award

Reviews

  • Powerful springboard for classroom discussions

    Ngai’s precisely lined, radiant mixed-media illustrations pull readers into each moment. . . . Complex yet comprehensible and suffused with rich science and social science content, including an excellent glossary, this is an invaluable resource for educators and curious youngsters alike.. . . Jensen’s tour through time is a tour de force.
    School Library Journal
    Review

  • Perfect jumping-off point for a classroom local history project

    This would be a perfect jumping-off point for a classroom project about local history, but the gorgeous digital and analog artwork elevates it beyond plain fact, making it an equally strong choice for storytime. . .
    Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books
    Starred Review

  • Retro-style artwork from Ngai (Wishes) employs glowing color

    Retro-style artwork from Ngai (Wishes) employs glowing colors, crisp lines, and a mixture of textile-like patterns. Culminating scenes embrace a scratch art technique for a powerfully layered visual of the way the past remains etched on the present.
    Publisher’s Weekly
    Review


  • Invaluable resource for educators and curious youngsters alike

    Ngai’s precisely lined, radiant mixed-media illustrations pull readers into each moment. . . . Complex yet comprehensible and suffused with rich science and social science content, including an excellent glossary, this is an invaluable resource for educators and curious youngsters alike.. . . Jensen’s tour through time is a tour de force.
    Kirkus Reviews
    Starred Review

  • An Important Book

    It takes a powerful book to make readers take a closer look at something they take for granted, and Before I Lived Here does just that. . . .The spare text may prompt readers to zip through the pages, but the images require lingering, savoring, and examining for the stories they tell. An important book.
    Booklist
    Review

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Before I Lived Here is available where books are sold or at your Library