In Philadelphia, Hallee Adelman was born with a teeny brain and a last name that began with a Z.

During her early years, Hallee re-envisioned neighborhood games like wire ball and Dungeons & Dragons. She also traveled to space in her under-the-desk rocket, built snow castles for faraway kingdoms, sewed clothing for stuffed animals, and climbed trees taller than the sun (even after falling into a trash can).

Hallee spent so much time imagining that she only read selective favorites like The Monster at the End of This Book, Caps for Sale, Go, Dog. Go!, Amelia Bedelia and Sticky Stanley.

As Hallee grew, so did the size of her brain (arguable), her last name, and her diverse book collection. She fell in love with The Dot, The Other Side, the Weird School Series, One for the Murphys, The Truth About Twinkie Pie, The Sky is Everywhere, Crank, Dictionary for a Better World, Little Libraries Big Heroes, and Eleanor & Park.

Mixing her desire to imagine with a quest to explore and share, Hallee became a teacher and earned a PhD. She was determined to unleash the extraordinary talents of her elementary through university students. She has mentored student and adult writers, hosted community access days to the amazing Franklin Institute, and chaired family events like Swish for Schools and the Please Touch Museum’s Storybook Ball. Adelman advocates for quality education and has worked with local businesses and SDP to provide internships for District students. She has been honored to support child/teen-focused organizations such as Donors Choose, Franklin Institute, CHOP, Simon’s Heart, and the Wissahickon Charter Schools.

With a love of story, Hallee co-founded World of HA Productions to develop impactful films and support passionate filmmakers. Some titles include The Social Dilemma, US Kids and The Truffle Hunters. She is co-directing/producing Our American Family, currently showing at film festivals.

Through all of her efforts, Hallee’s goal has been for all children, teens and storytellers to have opportunities to imagine boundlessly, unlock their strengths and discover their passions.

Hallee has two amazing daughters and mohawked dogs named Romeo and May. Thanks to her awesome husband, her married name will place her work on the first shelf in the bookstore.

Currently, Hallee writes small books about big feelings and creates big stories about important issues.