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Callie Dean

Home Featured Authors & Panelists Featured Participant Lineup 2026 Callie Dean

Callie Dean lives in Shreveport, Louisiana, with her husband and three sons. She is the author of the nonfiction picture books Marvelous Mistakes and the forthcoming Unstoppable Song, as well as the poetry chapbook Metadata. Outside of writing, Dean plays the violin in the Shreveport Symphony Orchestra and serves as the director of applied research at the LSUS Institute for Nonprofit Administration and Research.

 

 

Schedule

Will be posted when available.

Marvelous Mistakes: Accidents That Made History

"Perhaps you will find, in the messes you make, a masterpiece hiding behind each mistake!"

Everybody makes mistakes. Some mistakes go down in history . . . for all kinds of reasons.

This picture book takes readers on a playful, rhyming journey through eight famous mistakes made by historical figures. Some mistakes led to discoveries or new inventions. Others forced their makers down new, more successful paths. But every mistake highlighted in this book led to something good.

From discoveries born of accidents to careers reshaped by setbacks, these stories show that success isn't always a straight line--and that even the greatest achievers mess up sometimes.

Marvelous Mistakes explores both the creative and scientific process, showing that success is not always linear and that even famous people mess up sometimes. Teaching history while encouraging resilience and a growth mindset, Marvelous Mistakes makes a great read-aloud for classrooms, libraries, and families.

Featuring: biologist Alexander Fleming, fashion designer Vera Wang, jazz singer Ella Fitzgerald, architect Bonanno Pisano, mechanic Soichiro Honda, football player Jim Marshall, astronauts Peggy Whitson and Shane Kimbrough, and archeologists Mary Ann and Gideon Mantell.