Hallee Adelman is an American children's book author and documentary filmmaker based in the Philadelphia area. Her Way Past series of picture books, marketed under the name Great Big Feelings, is published by Albert Whitman & Company. She co-founded the documentary production company World of HA Productions with Ivy Herman.
Adelman's producing credits include the Primetime Emmy Award–winning documentary The Social Dilemma (2020) and the Academy Award–nominated Writing with Fire (2021). She directed and produced Our American Family (2022), which was reviewed by critics at The New York Times and the Los Angeles Times and profiled by The Philadelphia Inquirer. She is married to businessman David J. Adelman.
Early life and education Adelman was born and raised in Philadelphia. She holds a Ph.D. in learning technology from Drexel University and taught at all levels, from elementary school through university, before pursuing writing and filmmaking full-time. Adelman, who lives in Haverford, released her first children's book in 2019.
Literary career Adelman's debut picture book, My Quiet Ship (2018), illustrated by Sonia Sánchez, was reviewed by School Library Journal and was named a finalist for the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators' Crystal Kite Award in the Atlantic region. Her next project, the Way Past series for Albert Whitman & Company, focuses on children's emotional development. In 2022, The Philadelphia Inquirer profiled Adelman as part of a group of Philadelphia-area authors working to diversify children's literature. That same year, Philadelphia Style highlighted Adelman's work across both children's literature and film.
Several titles in the series have drawn reviews from trade publications, including Kirkus Reviews, Booklist, and School Library Journal. The first book, Way Past Mad (2018), won a Parents' Choice Award. A later book, Way Past Jealous (2021), received a starred review from Kirkus Reviews and was named to Bank Street College of Education's annual list of the best children's books. The series had grown to twelve titles by 2025. Adelman has given author talks and readings at institutions including the Free Library of Philadelphia.
+ Selected bibliography Year Title Notes 2018 My Quiet Ship 2018 SCBWI Crystal Kite Award finalist (Atlantic region); reviewed by School Library Journal 2020 Way Past Mad 2020 Parents' Choice Award; reviewed by Kirkus Reviews and Booklist 2020 Way Past Worried Reviewed by Kirkus Reviews and School Library Journal 2021 Way Past Jealous Starred review, Kirkus Reviews; also reviewed by Booklist; named to Bank Street College's Best Children's Books of the Year, 2022 2021 Way Past Sad 2022 Way Past Lonely 2022 Way Past Afraid 2022 The Strongest Thing Gold Award, 2022 Mom's Choice Awards 2023 Way Past Sorry Reviewed by Kirkus Reviews and Booklist 2023 Way Past Embarrassed Reviewed by Kirkus Reviews 2024 Way Past Mean Bookstagang Best of 2024 pick, "Best Conversation Starters"; reviewed by Booklist 2025 Way Past Shame Published by Albert Whitman & Company 2025 After: A Survivor's Story Reviewed by Kirkus Reviews; named to the Child Mind Institute's Best Kids' Books About Mental Health, 2025; 2025 Foreword INDIES finalist, Picture Books; named to Bank Street College's Best Children's Books of the Year, 2026 Filmmaking career Adelman co-founded the production company World of HA Productions with Ivy Herman. Her early credits as producer or executive producer include The Social Dilemma (2020), a Primetime Emmy Award winner, and Writing with Fire (2021), an Academy Award nominee for Best Documentary Feature. She was also an executive producer on Art & Krimes by Krimes (2021), which went on to win a 2023 Emmy Award for Outstanding Arts & Culture Documentary.
In 2022, Adelman directed and produced Our American Family together with Sean King O'Grady, a documentary following a Philadelphia family's experience with generational addiction. It won the Audience Award for Best Documentary Feature at the 2021 Woodstock Film Festival; Natalia Winkelman of The New York Times and Noel Murray of the Los Angeles Times both reviewed the film. Ahead of its streaming release on AMC+, The Philadelphia Inquirer profiled the film alongside Adelman's work directing it.
Adelman went on to produce Daughters (2024), which won the U.S. Documentary Audience Award at the Sundance Film Festival and received a 2024 Peabody Award, along with the short documentary Death by Numbers (2024), shortlisted for the Academy Award for Best Documentary Short Film. Two more of her executive-producing credits, The Librarians (2025) and Speak. (2025), both premiered at Sundance that year. The Hollywood Reporter called The Librarians a "powerful documentary about American book bans," and the film went on to win the 2026 Primetime Emmy Award for Exceptional Merit in Documentary Filmmaking. Adelman was appointed to the board of directors of the International Documentary Association in 2020.
+ Selected filmography Year Title Role Notes 2020 The Truffle Hunters Associate producer Won the 2021 American Society of Cinematographers Award for Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography in Documentary Film 2020 The Social Dilemma Executive producer Netflix; Primetime Emmy Award winner 2020 Us Kids Executive producer World premiere at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival 2021 Writing with Fire Executive producer Academy Award–nominated (Best Documentary Feature) 2021 Art & Krimes by Krimes Executive producer Won the 2023 Emmy Award for Outstanding Arts & Culture Documentary 2022 Our American Family Director, producer Woodstock Film Festival Audience Award; reviewed in The New York Times and the Los Angeles Times 2022 Aisha Executive producer Won the Audience Award at the 2022 Cork International Film Festival; nominated for 10 Irish Film & Television Awards in 2023 2022 Your Friend, Memphis Producer World premiere at the 2022 SXSW Film Festival 2022 Broadway Rising Executive producer Premiered at the 2022 Tribeca Festival 2023 Invisible Beauty Executive producer Won the 2024 NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Documentary (Film); nominated for the 2024 Cinema Eye Honors 2023 Late Bloomers Executive producer Premiered at the 2023 SXSW Film Festival 2023 Story & Pictures By Executive producer A documentary about children's picture book creators Christian Robinson, Yuyi Morales, and Mac Barnett 2023 Tomorrow, Tomorrow, Tomorrow Executive producer Screened in the U.S. Competition section at DOC NYC 2023 2023 No One Asked You Executive producer World premiere at DOC NYC 2023; Audience Award runner-up, DOC NYC 2023 2024 Daughters Executive producer Netflix; won the Audience Award, U.S. Documentary, 2024 Sundance Film Festival, and a 2024 Peabody Award 2024 Death by Numbers Executive producer Short documentary; Academy Award–shortlisted 2024 My Sweet Land Executive producer Nominated for three awards at the 2024 International Documentary Association Awards 2025 The Librarians Executive producer Premiered at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival; the film won the Emmy Award for Exceptional Merit in Documentary Filmmaking at the 78th Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards in 2026 2025 Speak. Executive producer Premiered at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival
Theater Adelman, credited jointly with Ivy Herman, is a producer of Back to the Future: The Musical, which won the 2022 Olivier Award for Best New Musical.
Personal life Adelman is married to businessman David J. Adelman, CEO of Campus Apartments.
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