Andy J.
Bestselling Author-Illustrator
Podcast Host & Neurodivergence Advocate
Travels from: Columbus, OH

“Pizza and Miller aim to help readers “SEE THE INVISIBLE” in a picture book that doubles as a body-scan meditation… In energetic, meandering prose, the pages explore internal and external feelings and moods.” — Publishers Weekly

Andy J. Pizza is a New York Times Bestselling author-illustrator of many books for children and adults such as Invisible Things and A Pizza with Everything On It. Pizza is also the creator of the popular podcast “Creative Pep Talk” which Vanity Fair says “is every bit as bright and effervescent as its title would lead you to believe”. For the past 15 years, Pizza has worked as a commercial illustrator for a wide variety of top tier clients like Apple, X-Box and The New York Times.

Pizza is very public about his ADHD and has become a vocal advocate for embracing neurodivergence. He lives in Columbus, Ohio, with his wife, 3 kids and 2 dogs.

Andy J.'s Featured Titles

Feel Calm: An Invisible Things Book

Chronicle Books |
Children’s

From the creators of the New York Times bestseller​ Invisible Things, this hands-on board book leads toddlers on a whimsical and reassuring journey from chaos to calm. 

When you feel wound up, how do you get the knots out? Follow along to unwind the tangled mess of ups, downs, and loop the loops and find the way back to calm. With this book in hand, take a moment to pause, take a deep breath, and practice mindfulness and grounding techniques perfectly suited for young readers.

Invisible Things introduced the wonderful concept of exploring the invisible things that make up the human experience, encouraging us to look past the visible and connect with the things that are not seen. This inviting board book brings the idea into an interactive format, offering kids a great way to explore and take charge of their emotions.

FEELINGS BOOK: Educators, therapists, and caregivers looking to have nuanced or challenging discussions with kids about their experiences can use this as a jumping-off point for conversation: What are your chaos feelings? What helps you feel calm?  

SOCIAL EMOTIONAL LEARNING: One common exercise teachers use is to ask kids to point to their emotions on a chart and then name them, for which this book will be a powerful tool.

REVIEWED BY MENTAL HEALTH EXPERT: This book was vetted by a licensed independent clinical social worker specializing in mental health for kids. Pair it with the Invisible Things book or Invisible Things Feelings Flash Cards to create an effective home or classroom resource.

POPULAR AUTHOR: Andy J. Pizza is one of the creative minds behind several children’s books, including the bestselling Invisible ThingsA Pizza with Everything on It, and A Sundae with Everything on It. He also hosts the popular podcast Creative Pep Talk.

Perfect for:

  • Parents, grandparents, caregivers, teachers, and educators
  • Anyone interested in social-emotional learning (SEL) and entertaining ways to explore emotions with kids
  • Anyone looking for interactive books about emotional health for babies and toddlers
  • Young readers who enjoy tactile board books like Press Here and Mix It Up!
  • Fans of Pixar’s Inside Out
  • Fans of Andy J. Pizza, the Creative Pep Talk podcast, or his bestselling books, including Invisible Things and A Pizza with Everything on It

A Sundae with Everything on It

Chronicle Books |
Children’s

Calling all fans of Andy J. Pizza’s Creative Pep Talk podcast and Kyle Scheele’s TikTok! The laugh-out-loud creators of A Pizza with Everything on It have stirred up yet another deliciously hilarious picture book adventure that will melt your heart!

Embark on a quest for dessert that is truly out-of-this-world in this deliciously funny family adventure tale. Sure, it’s hard to find a bowl big enough for an asteroid-size scoop of ice cream, but when your mom is a quantum physicist who also happens to be the inventor of a space-time travel device, the sweet taste of success is all but guaranteed. Get ready for a joyride around the Spooniverse as this mom and son duo embark on an inter-dimensional quest for the perfect dessert!

TIMELESS QUALITY: A classic family bonding moment—wanting dessert—leads to a memorable mother-son adventure with a heartwarming and satisfying ending that will ensure countless rereads.

FOOD-THEMED HILARITY: This funny children’s book is for fans of food-themed classics like Green Eggs and HamIf You Give a Mouse a Cookie, and Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs.

ELEMENT OF CHAOS: For anyone who loves books that celebrate the absurd and chaotic, like Dragons Love Tacos or Llama Destroys the World, the escalating silliness is literally out of this world!

MOTHER’S DAY GIFTING: This heartwarming and hilarious portrait of a memorable mother-son bonding experience is the perfect way to show appreciation for mom on Mother’s Day and all year round.

PIZZA + ICE CREAM: Universal and delicious! Pair this wildly wonderful humor book with A Pizza with Everything on It to create a winning gift for teachers, kids’ birthdays, summer reading, and more.

Perfect for:

  • Anyone who loves ice cream
  • Parents, caregivers, educators, and librarians
  • Readers looking for wholesome stories about family bonding or a hilarious storytime book
  • Fans of Andy J. Pizza’s Creative Pep Talk podcast or Kyle Scheele’s TikTok
  • Fans of A Pizza with Everything on It

Invisible Things

Chronicle Books |
Children’s

New York Times Bestseller

This creatively wacky exploration of the invisible things that make up the human experience encourages readers to look past the visible and connect with the things that are not seen.

If we could put on a pair of magical invisible glasses and see all the feelings, ideas, and other invisible things that populate our world, what would they look like? Could you see an itch? Could you describe hope? From the sound of a dog barking to the rainbow-MAGIC taste of a lollipop, from gratitude to grit, this book will help you meet the many interesting sensations that follow you every day, even if you can’t see them.

Explore the way a sad song can sometimes make you happy and discover that laughs—even fake ones—can multiply faster than you’d imagine. As readers give these unknown forces a name, they’ll also find a gentle invitation to pause, take a deep breath, and reflect on the invisible things at work in their own lives.

VIRAL HIT: Drawn from Andy J. Pizza’s original “Invisible Things” posts on Twitter that went viral, with 57,000 likes and 25,000 retweets, this book debuted on the New York Times bestseller list immediately upon its release. Andy’s ongoing Instagram posts continue to receive thousands of likes and shares. It’s clear people are ready to see INVISIBLE THINGS!

NAME THE INVISIBLE THING: There are hidden forces that impact our everyday, particularly for kids. Giving those forces a name, and even a face, helps kids to feel empowered.

PROMPT FOR CONVERSATION: Educators, therapists, and caregivers looking to have nuanced or challenging conversations with kids about their own experiences can use this as a jumping off point for conversation: What invisible things can you name in your life? 

SOCIAL EMOTIONAL LEARNING: One common exercise teachers use is to ask kids to point to their emotion on a chart and then name it, for which this book will be a powerful tool.

REVIEWED BY MENTAL HEALTH EXPERT: This book was vetted by a licensed independent clinical social worker specializing in mental health for kids!

POPULAR AUTHOR: Andy J. Pizza is one of the creative minds behind the bestselling A Pizza with Everything on It and also hosts the popular podcast Creative Pep Talk.

Perfect for:

  • Anyone interested in social-emotional learning (SEL) and entertaining ways to explore emotions with kids
  • Anyone looking for interactive or artful books about mental health
  • Fans of classic children’s books like Dr. Seuss’s My Many Colored Days, Molly Bang’s When Sophie Gets Angry–Really, Really Angry . . ., and Judith Viorst’s Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day
  • Fans of Pixar’s Inside Out
  • Fans of Andy J. Pizza, his original twitter post about “Invisible Things” that went viral, the Creative Pep Talk podcast, or A Pizza with Everything on It
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Why Doing Work You Love Starts with Loving Yourself

All work is a type of self expression. That means that you will never love your work if you hate what it’s an expression of (yourself!). We all long to do work we can authentically pour ourselves into, but what if what’s stopping you from showing up as your full self isn’t the work in front of you, but the reservations you have about yourself?

In this talk, Andy shares how an adult ADHD diagnosis and embrace of his neurodivergence opened up his creativity and unlocked his potential. Andy shares the deeply personal story of how this shift from a negative view of self to a positive one practically impacted his work and brought healing to the relationships, including with an estranged mother.

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Why Hard and Bad are Not The Same Thing

The desire to avoid hard things is natural, however learning to embrace challenge is essential. New York Times Best Selling picture book author / illustrator and storyteller Andy J. Pizza had to learn to love the hard things… well… the hard way. In this talk, Pizza shares how storytelling taught him that hard isn’t just “not bad” but the essential ingredient to not only storytelling but to a creative growth mindset as well.

Andy takes you on a transformational journey from totally blowing what seemed like a once in a life time dream opportunity, to a steady climb and full on career redemption. Citing fascinating research on the “questing” story mindset, this talk is designed to refresh your outlook and how you and your team views pesky problems and uninspiring challenges.

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See the Invisible

All ages talk on my New York Times Bestselling book Invisible Things on how to “see the invisible”. In school, my art teachers all told me I should be drawing the things that I love, the only problem? Everything that interests me is INVISIBLE! This is the story of how I learned to draw things you can’t see and how with the right colors, shapes and symbols, you can too!

Andy’s Speaking Link

Andy’s Speaking Info PDF

Honors, Awards & Recognition

New York Times Bestseller for picture book Invisible Things
Creative Pep Talk is globally ranked in the top .1% of all podcasts
Speaking clients: Mailchimp, Sesame Street, Starbucks, Warby Parker, Boston Consulting Group, Hallmark
Illustration Clients: Apple, X-Box, Target, The New York Times, YouTube The Washington Post, Nickelodeon, Meta, Pinterest

Media Kit

By clicking the link below you will be directed to a Google Docs Folder
where you can download author photos and cover images.

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