Over the last several years, I’ve had the pleasure of getting to know Dr. Marie Sontag. She currently serves as the RA for the North Texas Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, and, together, we are part of a group of writers who write Family Friendly Books. Marie took over an SCBWI group that had almost disappeared due to COVID and created a thriving community of kid lit authors. She also started a Family Friendly Books group in an effort to spotlight authors who write clean, sometimes overtly Christian, content. She is a natural encourager.

Read more: Meet Middle Grade and YA Historical Fiction Author Marie Sontag

But along with her many writing group activities, Marie writes amazing middle grade and YA historical fiction. She has a knack for bringing the past to life, one adventure at a time. Fifteen years of teaching middle school and high school has given her insight into what students find entertaining, and her B.A. in social science and M.A. and PhD in education provide her with a solid background for writing historical fiction.

Born in Wisconsin, Marie spent most of her life in California before moving to Texas with her husband a few years ago. She is a frequent participant in book fairs and library conferences where she enthralls kids and adults with stories about ancient Mesopotamia, World War II, and the American Westward movement. Wherever she goes, Marie always brings along authenticated artifacts such as a 3,500-year-old bronze dagger, an alabaster jar, and a Phoenician coin (all spotlighted in the ancient Mesopotamia books) to share with students.

 Marie’s Ancient Elements series follows the adventures of a young boy named Sam as he searches for his uncle in book one, undertakes a danger-filled trip to ancient Egypt in book two, and finally travels to Phoenicia for the culmination of his search in book three. Sam’s Mediterranean world is a vivid one, and the story makes clear that even thousands of years ago, residents of the region were well-traveled and knowledgeable about their realm. Anyone looking for curriculum-based fiction highlighting the ancient world will find these books a valuable tool.

Marie’s western trails series, The Whitcomb Discoveries, are written for middle-grade and young adult readers, and feature both fictional and historical characters as they travel the Oregon and California Trails. Their travels eventually lead to their entry into Yosemite Valley. By bringing the past to life through adventurous stories from another time and place, Marie opens kids’ minds to new perspectives as well as the realization that they may not be so different from others—even when separated by time, distance, or culture. Sometimes called a literary archeologist, Marie helps young readers unearth facts and ideas from the past that have implications for the present and possibilities for the future.

In book one of her Rising Hope series, Marie uses real events intertwined with some fictional characters to tell how Polish scouts joined the underground in 1944 Warsaw. She was able to really ramp up the authenticity on this one when she happened to meet a woman who was a member of a Polish Girl Scout troop that later joined the Polish Underground Army’s Zoshka Battalion. Underground Scouts will cause kids to see World War II in a whole new light.

If you’ve got kiddos who are reading middle grade and YA, check out all of Marie’s books. I know you’ll be glad you did. See: https://www.mariesontag.com/books/

By Wendy Hinote Lanier
Wendy Hinote Lanier is an author, speaker, and Texan who writes and speaks for children and adults. She is the award-winning author of more than fifty books for kids.

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