Christopher Franceschelli author page

Christopher Franceschelli biography

Christopher Franceschelli is a children’s author, editor and publisher. He founded the children’s publishing company Handprint Books in 2000, after working as president and publisher at Dutton. Handprint Books became an imprint of Chronicle Books with its autumn 2008 list, and Franceschelli continued to head Handprint after that change.

Franceschelli’s books for young children include Oliver, published in 2011, and Alphablock, published in 2013 with illustrations by Peskimo. He followed Alphablock with Countablock in 2014, Dinoblock in 2015, Cityblock in 2016 and Buildablock in 2017. These titles show his continuing work in board books and early-learning formats for preschool and primary-age children.

His work also includes translation and adaptation for children’s books. Kimonos, by Annelore Parot, was translated by Franceschelli and published in 2011. Feelings, by Xavier Deneux, was adapted by Franceschelli and published in 2021.

Later books by Franceschelli include Loveblock, published in 2020 with illustrations by Peskimo, Sharkblock, published in 2021 with illustrations by Peskimo, Spookytale, published in 2021 with illustrations by Allison Black, and Merrytale, published in 2022 with illustrations by Allison Black. In October 2025, Franceschelli announced that he planned to step back from Handprint Books at the end of 2025.