[1] Arielle is the daughter of noted author Sterling North, who wrote Rascal.
She is also the niece of author, poet and editor Jessica Nelson North.
In 1917, which would have been her great-grandfather James Hervey Nelson's 100th birthday, three of her great-uncles, including early Amazon missionary Justus Henry Nelson, wrote extended biographies about their parents and their pioneer farm life.
These writing efforts may have been a literary inspiration to both her father Sterling and her aunt Jessica.
Arielle has written: She has edited: She also reviewed children's books for the St. Louis Post Dispatch for 27 years.