Shannon Hale
Recognized in the Creative Minds Montessori 2026 Teacher’s Choice list.
Shannon Hale is one of roughly one hundred authors whose work was selected by the Montessori-certified teachers at Creative Minds Montessori for the 2026 Teacher’s Choice list — 120 books chosen across four reading stages, from first lap-reads to first chapter books. The selected book was chosen for how precisely it meets children at a real developmental moment. This recognition cannot be bought: no author or publisher paid to appear on our lists, and we take no commission on any book sale.
About Shannon Hale
Shannon Hale has written more than fifty books for all ages, including the Newbery Honor winner Princess Academy and the graphic novel memoirs Real Friends, Best Friends and Friends Forever with illustrator LeUyen Pham. The Princess in Black is co-written with her husband, Dean Hale, and illustrated by Pham.
The series began when her four-year-old daughter Maggie told her that pink, purple and yellow were girl colours but black was not, and that "princesses don't wear black" — so Hale wrote a princess who wears black and fights monsters.
Also by this author: Princess Academy · Real Friends · The Princess in Black and the Perfect Princess Party
Official website: shannonhale.com
Selected for the 2026 Teacher’s Choice list
Part of The Best Children’s Books by Age, chosen by the teachers at Creative Minds Montessori in Frisco, TX.