[1] He is best known for his work on Dr. Seuss and Harry Potter, which has led to him being a guest on such media programs as CBS Sunday Morning,[2] NPR's Morning Edition,[3] Talk of the Nation,[4] and CNN's Don Lemon Tonight.
[6] In response to the question of why he writes about what he does, Nel told Contemporary Authors, "To study children's literature is to be reminded of why reading (and re-reading) is fun, but it is also to see how complex and interesting supposedly 'simple' books really are.
"[6] Nel began his teaching career while he was a graduate student at Vanderbilt.
Twelve years in the making, Nel's biography of Crockett Johnson and Ruth Krauss was published in 2012 from the University Press of Mississippi.
In 2013, Fantagraphics published the first volume of Crockett Johnson's Barnaby — for which he is serving as a co-editor and providing biographical essays.