About the Author

Jory Perry

Award-winning children's author and illustrator, and founder of Perry Publishing.

Portrait of children's author Jory Perry holding The Tail That Told the Truth
Why I Write

Stories for the moments that matter

Children experience honesty long before they can explain it. Watching kids, including his own, move through moments of truth, hesitation, and accountability, Jory saw how emotional and confusing those moments can be. He wanted to turn that invisible inner experience into something a child could actually see.

That idea became Felix, a clever young fox whose tail changes color every time he tells a fib. Jory wrote and illustrated The Tail That Told the Truth to frame honesty as a skill children can practice, not something to fear, and to give grown-ups a reason to pause and ask why before reacting.

He founded Perry Publishing to build a collection of stories that help children understand what's happening inside them: honesty, self-trust, belonging, and big feelings. Each one is meant to start a real conversation between a child and the adults who care about them.

Stories That Shape Character

10

Award honors for his first picture book

4

Gold awards, including Best Children's Book of the Year from Reader Views

32

Pages, every one written and illustrated by Jory

K–5

Students reached through interactive author visits

Meet Jory in Person

From the page to the classroom

In school visits, Jory reads Felix's story aloud, draws him live from the first line to the finished fox, and shows students how a story travels from a first idea to a finished picture book, so they see that the characters they love began as someone's idea.

Jory lives in New Richmond, Wisconsin, with his family.

Jory Perry with his picture book in a school library