From Public Health to Picture Books: Meet Jessica McAnelly
- 11 minutes ago
- 7 min read
What happens when a passion for children, public health, nutrition, and storytelling come together? You get the wonderfully engaging world of Birdie.
We’re excited to welcome Jessica McAnelly, RD, RS, an award-winning children’s author and public health professional whose work makes important lessons about nutrition, food safety, movement, and healthy living accessible and fun for young readers. With nearly three decades of experience in food safety and public health, Jessica brings a unique perspective to children’s literature—combining professional expertise with stories that inspire curiosity, confidence, and healthy habits.
Inspired by her daughter and the childhood nickname “Birdie,” Jessica’s beloved book series encourages children and families to discover that learning about health and wellness can be an adventure.
In this interview, Jessica shares the inspiration behind Birdie, the importance of teaching children about food safety and wellness early, how storytelling can make educational topics exciting, and her vision for helping children build healthy habits that last a lifetime.
1. Food safety is often treated as something adults are responsible for. What changes when children begin to see themselves as active participants in keeping themselves and others safe?
I think it gives children a sense of ownership and confidence. Food safety doesn’t have to be scary or complicated. Children can understand simple things like washing their hands, keeping foods at the right temperature, not sharing germs, and keeping cooking areas clean.
When we teach those habits early, children begin to understand that they have a role in keeping themselves, their friends, and their families healthy. My goal with Birdie is to make those lessons feel empowering rather than like another list of rules from adults. I want a child to finish the book and think, “Hey, I can do that!”
2. What have you learned from seeing children interact with Birdie that has influenced how you think about writing for young readers?
Children are incredibly honest! You know immediately what captures their attention and what doesn’t. What I’ve loved most is seeing how quickly they connect with Birdie and her friends.
It has reminded me that children learn best when they're having fun. They love repetition, colorful characters, movement, questions, and opportunities to participate. I try to write books that aren't simply read to children but invite children to become part of the story. When I do school events I make them very interactive as children are little sponges and so eager to learn.
3. What do you think makes an educational children’s book successful with readers who may not immediately be interested in the topic being taught?
The story has to come first. A child probably isn't going to walk into a bookstore saying, “I would really like to learn about foodborne illness today!” But they might want to go on a picnic with Birdie and her woodland friends, and the cover is inviting and may want them to plan a picnic with friends and family.
That's where storytelling becomes so powerful. If children are laughing, following an adventure, looking for characters on the page, or wondering what happens next, you can introduce important lessons without making the book feel like a textbook.
My philosophy is that the education should almost sneak into the fun.
4. The Birdie series uses colorful illustrations, memorable characters, repetition, and activities to reinforce its lessons. How do those elements work together to help young readers understand and remember the health concepts you’re teaching?
Young children learn in so many different ways, so I intentionally try to give them more than one way to connect with a lesson.
The illustrations help children visualize it. The characters give them someone to relate to. Repetition reinforces the important messages, and the activities and checklists at the end of the books give them an opportunity to actually do something with what they've learned and become Food Safety Superstars, reinforcing what they learned in the book.
If a child hears it, sees it, says it and then practices it, that concept has a much better chance of becoming something they remember.
5. How can storytelling make health, wellness, and physical activity feel engaging and relevant to children rather than like lessons they are simply expected to follow?
I think children need to see healthy behaviors as something that adds to their lives rather than something they're being told they have to do.
Instead of saying, “You need to exercise,” Birdie and her friends can try tennis, dance, yoga, running and different sports. Now exercise becomes an adventure.
Instead of simply saying, “Eat healthy foods,” children can join Birdie in the kitchen, cook something and discover new foods.
Stories give children a chance to experience the lesson through a character first. Then hopefully they think, “I want to try that too.”
6. What role can the Birdie series play in encouraging children and families to turn healthy ideas into everyday habits?
One of my biggest hopes for Birdie is that the books start conversations that continue after the last page.
A child might remind Mom or Dad to wash their hands before cooking, ask to help prepare dinner, choose a new fruit or vegetable at the grocery store, or ask the family to go outside and play.
Those little moments matter. Healthy families aren't created through perfection. They're created through small habits repeated over time.
I also love the idea of bringing families back to the dinner table. Having screen free family nights. Cooking together, eating together, talking together and being active together can all become part of a family's culture.
7. What are some of your own favorite healthy foods or ways to stay active, and how do you incorporate those habits into your everyday life?
I truly believe in balance. I'm a Registered Dietitian, but I'm also a real person! Healthy living doesn't mean never enjoying your favorite foods. I have a sweet tooth but everything is in moderation.
I love fresh fruits and vegetables and meals that bring people together. Staying active has also always been important to me. I love tennis, yoga, and traveling to places where I can be outdoors and active.
For me, movement is about much more than exercise. It's about experiencing life and releasing natural endorphins that help us with mental health and overall wellness.
8. In your opinion, what are some of the biggest challenges children face today when it comes to nutrition and physical activity?
I think one of the biggest challenges is simply the environment children are growing up in. Families are incredibly busy, convenient foods are everywhere, and screens compete with active play in a way they didn't generations ago.
I don't believe the answer is making children afraid of certain foods or focusing on weight. I would much rather teach them what their bodies can do.
Food gives us energy. Movement makes us strong. Sleep helps our bodies recover. Healthy habits help our brains and bodies work their best.
When we frame wellness positively, I think children are much more likely to develop a healthy relationship with it.
9. For readers who may not be familiar with the profession, can you explain what a sanitarian does and how that work connects to your background in nutrition, food safety, and children’s health?
A sanitarian is essentially a public health professional a restaurant inspector or health inspector, who works to protect people from environmental health risks. That can include inspecting restaurants and food-service facilities, investigating foodborne illnesses, educating food handlers, and making sure food is being prepared and stored safely.
I'm both a Registered Dietitian and Registered Sanitarian, and I've spent nearly 30 years working in food safety, nutrition and public health.
I've been on the professional side of seeing what happens when food safety goes wrong, so I understand how important prevention is.
Birdie allows me to take that professional knowledge and translate it into something a five-year-old can understand.
10. How has your professional experience as a sanitarian influenced the way you approach the health and safety messages woven throughout the Birdie series?
It has influenced everything.
I've spent years educating adults about food safety, inspecting facilities and working around foodborne illness prevention. One thing you learn very quickly in public health is that prevention is incredibly powerful.
So I started thinking: Why wait until adulthood to teach these concepts? And I couldn’t find anything on the market teaching these important concepts to children.
If we can introduce simple health and safety behaviors when children are young, those behaviors can become normal habits rather than something they have to relearn later.
At the same time, I never want Birdie to frighten children. My professional background gives me the science, but Birdie gives me a way to deliver that science with joy and fun.
11. Who are some of your role models in nutrition, public health, or children’s literature, and how have they influenced your work?
I admire people who can take complicated information and make it understandable and meaningful to everyday families.
In children's literature, I've always appreciated authors like Dr. Seuss because he proved that repetition, rhythm, imagination and memorable characters can teach enormous lessons in very simple ways.
But one of my greatest influences wasn't a famous author or public health professional. It was my grandmother, Patricia Archer, whom we called Ma. Sunday dinners and family gatherings were incredibly important in our family, and she helped shape my belief that food is about so much more than nutrition. Food brings people together.
That idea is woven throughout Birdie.
12. Are there any upcoming books or projects that will explore new areas of health, wellness, or life skills for children?
Absolutely. I see Birdie growing far beyond the books that are already available.
We've explored food safety, healthy eating and physical activity, and I'm very interested in expanding into areas such as children's emotional wellness, mental health, confidence and other everyday life skills.
I always want the books to give children something practical they can take with them a checklist, an activity, a conversation starter or a simple strategy they can actually use.
My vision is for Birdie to grow alongside children and help them build healthy habits for both their bodies and their minds.
Jessica McAnelly, RD, RS is an award-winning children’s author, Registered Dietitian, Registered
Sanitarian, and longtime advocate for children’s health, education, and wellness. With nearly three decades of experience in food safety and public health, Jessica created the Birdie children’s book series to make important lessons about nutrition, food safety, movement, and healthy living fun and approachable for young readers.
Jessica’s passion for children and education extends well beyond her books. She has served in numerous PTA leadership roles, including PTA President and Council leadership, and has spent years supporting students, teachers, and families throughout her community. She has also served on the Comal Education Foundation Board and is active in organizations including the Junior League of San Antonio, Comal County Aggie Moms Club, Chi Omega, the Gardenia Club, and the Central Texas Environmental Health Association.
Through school visits, library storytimes, community programs, and speaking engagements, Jessica combines her professional expertise with engaging storytelling to help children understand that healthy habits can be simple, empowering, and fun.
Inspired by her daughter, whose childhood nickname “Birdie” became the heart of her books, Jessica believes some of life’s most important lessons begin at home—around the dinner table, in the kitchen, and through the everyday moments families share.