Catherine Thimmesh

Catherine Thimmesh is an award-winning author, speaker, and creativity educator.

Her creative children’s nonfiction titles have won numerous awards, including a New York Times Notable Book and the prestigious Sibert Medal. She is the author of the best-selling book: GIRLS THINK OF EVERYTHING: Stories of Ingenious Inventions by Women — which was substantially revised and newly released in 2018. TEAM MOON: How 400,000 People Landed Apollo 11 on the Moon won the Sibert Medal, while CAMP PANDA: Helping Cubs Return to the Wild was a Sibert Honor book.

Her newest book — SMASH, CRASH, TOPPLE, ROLL! The Inventive Rube Goldberg: A Life in Comics, Contraptions, and Six Simple Machines — is a Junior Library Guild Gold Selection and releases May 6, 2025.

You can watch her discuss the importance of creativity in her TEDx talk: Creativity in the Classroom (in 5 minutes or less) on YouTube, or Catherine’s website.

Catherine lives and works in Eden Prairie, Minnesota.