Sally Isaacs grew up in Evansville, Indiana, and graduated from Indiana University. She served as Editorial Director of Reader's Digest Educational Division before becoming a professional writer of nonfiction and educational books. She has written 50 books including American history books, biographies, and atlases for children. In 2004, her book Cattle Trails and Cowboys (Heinemann Library) won the June Franklin Naylor Award for Best Book for Children on Texas History, given by the Daughters of the Republic of Texas. Sally began her research on Helen Thayer's Arctic journey by reading Helen's book with its day-by-day accounts. She followed this with several telephone interviews with Helen. Sally is the co-founder and co-chair of the 21st Century Children's Nonfiction Conference.
