Melina Bellows

Melina Bellows

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Melina Gerosa Bellows is executive vice president and chief creative officer of Books, Kids and Family at National Geographic. She leads the editorial and design teams for National Geographic Books, Children's Books, Kids and Little Kids Magazines as well as all of the Society's kids and family product lines, including online and digital platforms.

Prior to Bellows' current role, she served as the executive vice president of Children's Publishing, overseeing the Children's Book Division and serving as editor in chief of National Geographic Kids, the largest children's magazine in America, with a circulation of 1.2 million. The magazine has nearly 20 international editions.

In 2007 she launched National Geographic Little Kids for preschoolers and their parents. The magazine has a circulation of 300,000 and has garnered The Parents' Choice Gold Award each year for the past five years.

An internationally published best-selling author, Bellows' most recent books are "Love You, Dad" and "Mother's Love" for National Geographic Books. Her first book with National Geographic, "Nat Geo AMAZING! 100 People, Places, and Things That Will Wow You," was published in June 2010. It is the companion book to "Nat Geo AMAZING!" a 10-part television series that debuted on the National Geographic Channel in July 2010.

Bellows' previous books include "The Fun Book" (Simon & Schuster, 1998), "The Fun Book for Couples" (Andrews McMeel Publishing, 2003), the novel "Wish" ((New American Library, 2005), "The Fun Book for Moms" (Andrews McMeel, 2007), "The Fun Book for Girlfriends" (Andrews McMeel, 2009) and "The Fun Book for Christmas" (Andrews McMeel, 2009).

Bellows is an award-winning freelance writer who has written for The New York Times, National Geographic Traveler, Glamour, Cosmopolitan, Family Life, Family Circle, More, Ladies Home Journal, The Washingtonian, AARP The Magazine, Coastal Living, Entertainment Weekly and Elle.

She has appeared on such television shows as NBC's "Today" show, ABC's "The View," Fox's "Good Day New York" and "Fox and Friends" and CNN.

A graduate of Boston College's Honors Program, Bellows lives in Washington, D.C., with her young son and daughter.

Blog Entries by Melina Bellows

Why Being a Mom is the Coolest Job Ever

(0) Comments | Posted May 24, 2012 | 6:40 PM

I'm not gonna lie: I have a cool job. One perk is going cool places and meeting cool people.

A few weeks ago, I flew out to unsunny So Cal for the fourth annual PTTOW Summit. The ungainly acronym stands for People To Take Over the World;...

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Another Perfect (Mother's) Day in Paradise

(0) Comments | Posted May 9, 2012 | 4:35 PM

We're in Jamaica. Family vacation. No sooner do I flop onto a lounge chair and flip open my Vogue than I hear, "Mom! I'm bleeding!"

I look over at my 6-year-old daughter Mackenzie and notice a stripe of dark blood on her shin. Then the blood starts to...

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Are You Really Only Dreaming?

(2) Comments | Posted May 3, 2012 | 2:26 PM

They say that dreams are a window to the soul -- and for me, that notion was proved true the other night. Deep in sleep, I dreamed that I had just returned from an outing; my parents and daughter were waiting for me, but my son was nowhere to be...

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Teaching Kids to Be Kind to Animals

(0) Comments | Posted April 30, 2010 | 4:40 PM

Did you know that butterflies taste food with their feet? Or that an eagle's nest weighs more than a refrigerator? Amazing facts like these from National Geographic Kids magazine show your children that all animals--family pets and wild animals--deserve to be respected and appreciated. May 2-8 is Be Kind to...

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Mom Advice from Michelle Obama: How to Raise Healthy Kids

(0) Comments | Posted April 12, 2010 | 9:24 AM

For the first time in a while, I'm not thinking about my weight. It's the rest of the country I'm worried about. I'm sitting with Michelle Obama discussing the Fat Attack on America.

Let me explain. I'm actually sitting in on a Town Hall Meeting that...

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Kids Grade the President on His First Year in Office

(1) Comments | Posted January 20, 2010 | 2:37 PM

Who says no one listens to kids? National Geographic Kids magazine certainly does, and we offered them the chance to grade freshman President Barack Obama on how they think he's done this past year. Based on what they said, maybe the President has a few things to learn from this...

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The Secret To Happiness According To Kids

(17) Comments | Posted November 18, 2009 | 2:10 PM

Times are tough. Real tough.

As the New York Times recently pointed out, many parents have found themselves out of work and at home--and it ain't good. "For many families across the country, the greatest damage inflicted by this recession has not necessarily been financial, but emotional and psychological," reports...

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Pint Size Pundits

(3) Comments | Posted October 23, 2008 | 7:02 PM

Opinions are flying.

"C'mon people! Sarah Palin is a pro-lifer and very conservative. What's not to like??? I would have voted for Mr. Maverick regardless."

"McCain only chose this airhead to try and win over the people who would vote for Hillary and it just backfired...

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National Geographic : Meeting Green-Tweens On Their Own Terrain

(0) Comments | Posted April 22, 2008 | 3:24 PM

The only way to save the planet is to motivate people in a position to do so. The scary thing is that those in power are understandably busy with other pressing needs--namely IM-ing their BFFs, suffering through PowerPoint presentations, and squeezing in time for soccer practice. For just-as-busy parents, the...

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