With 25 years of experience as an actor, director, writer, and educator, Nicole Evans brings a lifelong appreciation for storytelling to her work as a children’s author. Through books that invite young readers into worlds of adventure, humor, and imagination, she continues to explore the ways stories can inspire children both inside and outside the classroom.
For Nicole Evans, storytelling is more than putting words on a page. It is a way to connect with people, encourage imagination, and create experiences that stay with an audience long after the final scene, or the final page, has ended.
An actor, director, writer, and educator for the past 25 years, Evans has spent much of her professional life exploring the power of stories in different forms. Her journey has taken her from studying theatre and education at Indiana University to teaching theatre to young people and adults across the United States. Today, she brings that diverse background to her work as a children’s author while continuing to teach kindergarten at a magnet school specializing in gifted education and cultural arts studies.
Her creative world brings together the performing arts, education, and children’s literature, three fields that share a common interest in helping people discover new ideas, express themselves, and see the world from different perspectives.
Through titles including The Night of the Double Dog Dare, My Life as a Stage, The One and Only Owen, Owen’s ALMOST Overnight Adventure, and Gloria Goodman Is Always on the Go!, Evans has developed a growing collection of stories for young readers and families to discover.
A Foundation Built on Theatre and Education
Evans’s professional journey began with a strong foundation in theatre and education. She earned her Bachelor of Arts in Theatre and Education from Indiana University, bringing together two disciplines that would continue to shape her work.
Theatre is an art form built on communication, imagination, collaboration, and the ability to understand different characters and perspectives. Education, meanwhile, creates opportunities to introduce ideas, encourage questions, and help learners develop their own understanding of the world.
Evans’s experience in both fields gives her a distinctive perspective on storytelling. As an actor and director, she has worked with the elements that bring a story to life in performance. As a writer, she can explore those same creative possibilities through characters, dialogue, situations, and narrative.
Her work as an educator has also placed her in direct contact with young people and adult learners across the country. Teaching theatre to different age groups requires flexibility, an understanding of how people learn, and an appreciation for the many ways individuals express themselves.
These experiences provide meaningful context for her work in children’s literature. Stories written for young readers must invite attention, stimulate curiosity, and create a world children want to explore. A background that combines performance and education offers valuable insight into how storytelling can engage an audience.
The Classroom as a Place for Curiosity and Creativity
Today, Evans works as a kindergarten teacher at a magnet school focused on gifted education and cultural arts studies. Her professional life continues to bring her into an environment where curiosity, creativity, and learning are central to everyday experiences.
Early childhood is an important period for developing language, imagination, and an interest in discovering how the world works. Stories can become part of that process by introducing children to characters, situations, and possibilities beyond their immediate experiences.
A well-told story can encourage a child to ask questions, imagine a different outcome, or consider how another character might feel. It can also provide opportunities for conversation, creative play, and the development of a personal connection with reading.
Evans’s experience in education gives her a professional perspective on the importance of making creative experiences inviting for young audiences. Her work brings her into contact with children as learners, while her writing provides another avenue through which she can explore storytelling for younger readers.
Rather than separating creativity from learning, her professional background reflects how the two can complement each other. Theatre encourages expression and participation; education encourages discovery; and children’s literature offers a space where imagination and language can work together.
Bringing Stories to Life through Books
Evans’s children’s books reflect the different directions a creative imagination can take. Her titles include adventures, character-driven stories, and narratives that invite young readers to discover what happens next.
Among her published works is The Night of the Double Dog Dare, a title presented for readers ages 5–12, with an emphasis on adventure and imagination. The book’s intended age range encompasses children developing their own reading preferences and discovering the kinds of characters and situations that capture their interest.
The title itself evokes the spirit of childhood challenges and the curiosity that can turn an ordinary situation into an adventure. For young readers, stories built around challenges and unexpected developments can provide an engaging reason to keep turning the pages.
Her broader collection also includes My Life as a Stage, a theater-themed title for young readers, along with the Owen and Gloria Goodman stories described below. Each title contributes to a body of work that families can explore as they discover Evans’s approach to children’s storytelling.
Together, these books represent her creative work across children’s literature and her continuing interest in connecting with young audiences through stories.
Owen’s Adventures and the Possibilities of Multiform Storytelling
Among Evans’s titles, The One and Only Owen and Owen’s ALMOST Overnight Adventure offer readers two entry points into her work featuring Owen.
The titles also sit within a wider creative approach that extends beyond printed books. Evans’s Owen project includes music and an audio component, allowing audiences to encounter the story through listening as well as reading.
Audiobooks can offer families a convenient way to share stories during quiet time, on road trips, or as part of a bedtime routine. They also create an alternative experience for children who enjoy listening to narration and dialogue.
Music adds another creative dimension. Songs can invite participation and give children an opportunity to engage with a project through rhythm, sound, and repetition. When books and audio projects are presented together, they can offer families different ways to revisit a creative world.
This approach also reflects Evans’s background in theatre, where storytelling is experienced through more than words alone. Performance uses voice, timing, expression, and sound to create an experience for an audience. Audio storytelling offers its own opportunities to bring narrative to life through listening.
By connecting literary projects with related audio and musical offerings, Evans can introduce audiences to different ways of engaging with her creative work.
Gloria Goodman and a Collection of Distinctive Titles
Another title in Evans’s collection, Gloria Goodman Is Always on the Go!, adds to the range of characters and stories available to young readers.
Children’s literature encompasses many kinds of experiences, from imaginative adventures to stories centered on memorable personalities and everyday situations. Distinctive titles can spark a child’s curiosity before the first page is even opened, creating an invitation to discover the character and story behind the name.
Evans’s collection gives families several titles to explore, whether they are encountering her work for the first time or looking for another book after enjoying one of her earlier stories.
For parents, caregivers, and educators, discovering an author’s wider collection can also create opportunities to keep reading experiences fresh. Different titles can appeal to different interests, moods, and reading stages, helping children explore the kinds of stories they most enjoy.
Life beyond the Page
Although writing and education are important parts of Evans’s professional life, her interests extend beyond the classroom and her creative work.
When she is not teaching, she enjoys traveling, hiking, writing children’s stories, and spending time with her son, Griffin, and their animals.
Travel and hiking offer opportunities to experience new places and spend time outdoors, while writing allows her to continue exploring ideas through storytelling. Her family life provides another important part of the picture, reflecting the personal interests that accompany her professional commitments.
Evans is also a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, an organization connected with the children’s literature and illustration community. Her membership places her within a professional network devoted to children’s books and the people who create them.
These details offer a fuller view of Evans beyond the titles on a bookshelf. She is an educator and creative professional whose work spans multiple disciplines, while her interests include outdoor activities, travel, and time with her family.
The Lasting Value of Stories for Young Readers
Books can become meaningful parts of childhood in ways that extend beyond the reading experience itself. A story might lead to a conversation, inspire a drawing, and encourage a child to invent a new character, or become a book that a family returns to repeatedly.
For educators and writers, one of the enduring opportunities of children’s literature is the chance to make reading an engaging experience. Children bring their own questions, humor, and imaginations to the stories they encounter, often finding connections that adults might not anticipate.
Evans’s background in theatre and education gives her a professional connection to both performance and learning. Her work as a children’s author allows her to bring storytelling into another format, creating books that young readers and their families can discover together.
Her career also illustrates how creative interests can develop across different professional roles. Theatre, teaching, and writing each offer distinct ways to communicate, but all depend on the ability to capture attention and invite an audience into an experience.
As Evans continues her work in education and children’s literature, her collection provides families with several starting points for exploring her stories.
Continuing the Journey through Children’s Literature
Nicole Evans’s journey brings together 25 years of experience in the performing arts, a background in theatre and education from Indiana University, and her current work as a kindergarten teacher at a magnet school focused on gifted education and cultural arts studies.
Her books for young readers offer an introduction to her creative work for children, and her related audio and music projects further extend the ways audiences can engage with her storytelling.
At the center of this journey is a continuing interest in creativity and the possibilities of stories. Whether through theatre, teaching, writing, or the experience of sharing a book with a child, Evans’s professional life reflects the many ways storytelling can bring people together.
For readers and families interested in discovering her work, her author website provides a central place to explore her books and related creative projects.
More information about Nicole Evans and her children’s books is available at nicoleevansauthor.com.
About Nicole Evans
Nicole Evans has worked as an actor, director, writer, and educator for 25 years. She holds a BA in Theatre and Education from Indiana University and has taught theatre to youth and adults across the United States. She currently teaches kindergarten at a magnet school specializing in gifted education and cultural arts studies. Outside of teaching, she enjoys traveling, hiking, writing children’s stories, and spending time with her son, Griffin, and their animals. She is a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators. Her books include The Night of the Double Dog Dare, My Life as a Stage, The One and Only Owen, Owen’s ALMOST Overnight Adventure, and Gloria Goodman Is Always on the Go!.
