Anne Bustard

Anne Bustard writes books for young readers that often connect family change with a carefully researched historical setting. Anywhere but Paradise, her middle-grade debut, follows twelve-year-old Peggy Sue after her family moves from Texas to Hawaii in 1960. Carolrhoda Books published the novel, which explores belonging, prejudice, friendship, and the difficulty of seeing a celebrated place through a newcomer's unsettled eyes. Bustard was born in Honolulu and later lived in Texas, giving the story a personal geographical connection. She co-owned Toad Hall Children's Bookstore in Austin and earned an MFA from Vermont College of Fine Arts. Her other books include Blue Skies, Far Out!, and the picture-book biography Buddy: The Story of Buddy Holly. Anywhere but Paradise established her ability to place an accessible family story within a specific period, using school life and community tensions to show how historical circumstances are experienced by children.