Authors Similar like Betsy Bird

Kate Messner

Kate Messner is an award-winning author, TED 2012 speaker, and former middle school English teacher. Her books for kids include THE BRILLIANT FALL OF GIANNA Z.,SUGAR AND ICE, and EYE OF THE STORM (Walker/Bloomsbury Dec. 2010) the MARTY MCGUIRE series (Scholastic), SEA MONSTER'S FIRST DAY, and OVER AND UNDER THE SNOW (Chronicle, Books). Kate also wrote SPITFIRE and CHAMPLAIN AND THE SILENT ONE, both Lake Champlain historical novels published by North Country Books.

Kate lives with her family on Lake Champlain, where she loves to read, write, hike, swing on birch trees, and eat chocolate. She also hangs out in various places online.
Visit Kate's website: http://www.katemessner.com

Find Kate on Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/KateMessner

...or f

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Jess Hannigan

Jess Hannigan is an illustrator and author living in Hamilton, Ontario. Her debut picture book was Spider in the Well, followed by her second, The Bear Out There. She has also illustrated for the New York Times, Readers Digest Canada, the Washington Post, and more.

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Regina Linke

Regina Linke is a Taiwanese American artist specializing in Chinese gongbi-style painting, an ancient form of brush painting that depicts narrative subjects in colorful high detail. She enjoys writing and illustrating stories that celebrate East Asian folklore and philosophy in a modern way. Regina lives with her family in Rhode Island, in the United States.

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X. Fang

Hello! I’m X. Fang. I am a visual artist and maker of books for young readers. I was born in Taiwan, raised in Atlanta, Georgia, bounced around Brooklyn and Philly before settling down in Midcoast Maine with my husband, son, and dog.

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Lourdes Heuer

Lourdes Heuer is a children's author, poet, translator, and college professor.

She holds an MFA in Writing from the Vermont College of Fine Arts and is Associate Professor of English at Broward College.

She currently lives in South Florida with her husband, son, and many dogs.

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Andrea L. Rogers

Andrea L. Rogers is a writer from Tulsa, Oklahoma and a citizen of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma. She graduated from the Institute of American Indian and Alaskan Arts with an MFA in Creative Writing. Currently, she is splitting time between Fayetteville, Arkansas, where she is a Ph.d. student at the University Arkansas and Fort Worth, Texas, where her family lives. Her book Mary and the Trail of Tears: A Cherokee Removal Survival Story was named an NPR Best Book of 202) by both NPR and American Indians in Children’s Literature.
Ms. Rogers is on the Board of the Fort Worth Public Library.

A member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, she is currently revising a middle grade mystery, writing an adult literary horror nov

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Emmy Kastner

I've drawn many pictures of dogs and monsters in my life, many of which you could find on the edges of math homework and science tests. I've always been a storyteller, learning the art of exaggeration early on.

My husband and I live in Kalamazoo, Michigan with our three young kids. I’m forever looking to be surrounded by books, food and laughter (in any order). I spend my days in my studio that lives above our coffee shop, Factory Coffee.

As a former classroom teacher, I taught high school English Language Arts, Biology, and Integrated Science. I'm cofounder of Read and Write Kalamazoo (RAWK) — a literacy-focused nonprofit modeled after 826 National. RAWK is devoted to celebrating and amplifying youth voices through the cultivation of readin

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Corey R. Tabor

Corey R. Tabor grew up in Wyoming, where he once spent the night in a cave by an underground waterfall. He now lives with his wife in Seattle, where he draws and reads and explores. Please visit him at coreyrtabor.com.

from https://www.readbrightly.com/meet-ill...

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Drew Daywalt

Ever since his childhood in one of Ohio’s most haunted houses, writer director Drew Daywalt has been writing escapist fantasy and building worlds of his own. With a degree in Creative Writing, and a concentration in Children’s Literature from Emerson College in Boston, Daywalt set off to Hollywood where he spent years writing for Disney and Universal on such beloved shows as Timon & Pumba, Buzz Lightyear, and Woody Woodpecker, and where his animated series The Wacky World of Tex Avery garnered an Emmy nomination.

His first trip into live action landed him studio screenwriting and feature film directing work with such Hollywood luminaries as Quentin Tarrantino, Lawrence Bender, Tony Scott, Brett Ratner and Jerry Bruckheimer.

With an eye towa

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Sandra Salsbury

I'm Sandra Salsbury, a children's book author and illustrator.

I was born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area, where I received a BFA and MFA in illustration from the Academy of Art University.

I am the author/illustrator of THE BABY WHO STAYED AWAKE FOREVER (Doubleday Books for Young Readers 2025), BEST FRIEND IN THE WHOLE WORLD (Peachtree 2021), and SPRECKLE'S SNACK SURPRISE (Peachtree 2023), as well as the illustrator of various other books. I live in Berkeley with my husband, daughters, and numerous house plants. The chickens live next door.

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Kyle Lukoff

Kyle Lukoff writes books for kids and other people.

Before becoming a full-time writer, Kyle worked at five bookstores, in four libraries, for three schools, as two genders, through one intersection: people, and books.

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Renée Watson

Renée Watson is the author of the children’s picture book, A Place Where Hurricanes Happen (Random House, June 2010), which was featured on NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams. Her middle grade novel, What Momma Left Me debuted as the New Voice for 2010 in middle grade fiction by The Independent Children's Booksellers Association.

Renée’s one woman show, Roses are Red, Women are Blue, debuted at New York City's Lincoln Center at a showcase for emerging artists. Her poetry and articles have been published in Rethinking Schools, Theatre of the Mind and With Hearts Ablaze.

When Renée is not writing and performing, she is teaching. Renée has worked in public schools and community organizations as an artist in residence for several years, teachin

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Brian Floca

Brian Floca is the author-illustrator of the Caldecott Medal winner Locomotive, the Robert F. Sibert Honor books Moonshot and Lightship, and other picture books, and is the illustrator of many more books for young readers. Brian Floca lives and works in Brooklyn.

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Vera Brosgol

Vera Brosgol was born in Moscow, Russia in 1984 and moved to the United States when she was five. She received a diploma in Classical Animation from Sheridan College, and currently works at Laika Inc. in Portland, Oregon drawing storyboards for feature animation.

She has done illustration work for clients such as Nickelodeon, Sony Computer Entertainment, and Simon & Schuster. Her first graphic novel, Anya's Ghost, was published in 2011 by First Second Books.

She loves knitting, baking, and trying not to kill her plants. She hopes you are enjoying looking at her drawings!

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Lauren Wolk

Lauren Wolk is an award-winning poet and author of the bestselling Newbery Honor–winning Wolf Hollow, described by the New York Times Book Review as "full of grace and stark, brutal beauty." She was born in Baltimore and has since lived in California, Rhode Island, Minnesota, Canada, and Ohio. She now lives with her family on Cape Cod.

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Matthew Forsythe

Matthew Forsythe is an author and illustrator living in Los Angeles.

His first book, Pokko and the Drum, won the Charlotte Zolotow Honor for picture book writing and his second book, MINA, was a Governor General Awards finalist.

He was also a designer on several animated shows including Adventure Time, The Midnight Gospel and the Oscar-nominated film, Robin Robin.

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Bob Shea

Bob Shea has written and illustrated over a dozen picture books including the popular Dinosaur vs. Bedtime and the cult favorite Big Plans illustrated by Lane Smith.

His characters and animations have appeared on Nick Jr, Playhouse Disney and PBS Kids.

Bob spends his days writing, drawing and having “conversations” with NPR.

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Rebecca Stead

Rebecca Stead is the New York Times bestselling author of When You Reach Me, Liar & Spy, First Light, Goodbye Stranger, Bob, and, most recently, The List of Things That Will Not Change. Her books have been awarded the Newbery Medal, the Boston Globe/Horn Book Award for Fiction and the Guardian Children's Fiction Prize.

Rebecca lives in New York City, where she is always on the lookout for her next story idea.

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Adam Rex

Adam Rex grew up in Phoenix, Arizona, the middle of three children. He was neither the smart one (older brother) or the cute one (younger sister), but he was the one who could draw. He took a lot of art classes as a kid, trying to learn to draw better, and started painting when he was 11. And later in life he was drawn down to Tucson in order to hone his skills, get a BFA from the University of Arizona, and meet his physicist wife Marie (who is both the smart and cute one).

Adam is nearsighted, bad at all sports, learning to play the theremin, and usually in need of a shave. He can carry a tune, if you don't mind the tune getting dropped and stepped on occasionally. He never remembers anyone's name until he's heard it at least three times. H

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Laurie Halse Anderson

UPDATE! Rebellion 1776 is out! The New York Times wrote, "Filled with immersive detail, expert delineations of complex characters, and both harsh and loving reality, Rebellion 1776 provides young readers with a true experience of a historic moment in time that resonates with today's world." Huzzah!

Laurie Halse Anderson is the New York Times-bestselling author of many award-winning books including the groundbreaking, modern classic Speak, a National Book Award finalist which has sold over 3.5 million copies and been translated into 35 languages.

In 2023, Anderson was named the Laureate of the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award, long considered to be the de facto 'Nobel Prize for Children's Literature.'

A passionate spokesperson for the need to c

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Emmy Kastner

I've drawn many pictures of dogs and monsters in my life, many of which you could find on the edges of math homework and science tests. I've always been a storyteller, learning the art of exaggeration early on.

My husband and I live in Kalamazoo, Michigan with our three young kids. I’m forever looking to be surrounded by books, food and laughter (in any order). I spend my days in my studio that lives above our coffee shop, Factory Coffee.

As a former classroom teacher, I taught high school English Language Arts, Biology, and Integrated Science. I'm cofounder of Read and Write Kalamazoo (RAWK) — a literacy-focused nonprofit modeled after 826 National. RAWK is devoted to celebrating and amplifying youth voices through the cultivation of readin

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Scott Rothman

SCOTT ROTHMAN is a writer of picture books, screenplays, theater, and humor pieces. Scott’s debut picture book ATTACK OF THE UNDERWEAR DRAGON (Random House) and its sequel RETURN OF THE UNDERWEAR DRAGON were both National Indie bestsellers and are being developed into a musical kids TV series by Mercury Filmworks with best-selling illustrator Pete Oswald and Tony-award winning composer Bill Sherman.

His most recent book KITTYBUNKPORT was featured on the TODAY SHOW and was selected by Jenna Bush Hager for her Summer Reading List. Scott’s book WARM AND FUZZY (Tundra, illustrated by Brian Won) received a starred review from Booklist who called it a “fun and helpful read about overcoming anxieties.”

Scott’s other kid’s books include the Virginia

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Dan Bar-el

Dan Bar-el is an award-winning children’s author, educator and storyteller. His writing includes chapter books, such as The Very, Very Far North and Audrey (cow), picture books, such as Not Your Typical Dragon and It's Great Being a Dad, and graphic novels, such as That One Spooky Night and Dog Night at the Story Zoo.

For the past twenty-five years, Dan has been working with children ages 3 to 13. He’s been a school age childcare provider, a preschool teacher, a creative drama and a creative writing teacher. He’s developed a multitude of creative activities for children including movie making and a radio show involving school-age childcare centres across Vancouver. As a preschool teacher, Dan created Stories in Our Own Words, a program for

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Liana Finck

Liana Finck is a cartoonist, illustrator and regular contributor to the New Yorker where she also authors the “Dear Pepper” advice-from-a-dog column. As the author of eight books, her work also frequently appears in The New York Times, The Atlantic, The Wall Street Journal, New York Magazine and more. She is the recipient of Fulbright, Guggenheim and New York Foundation for the Arts Fellowships. She teaches creative writing at Barnard College. www.lianafinck.com
Photo credit: Jorge Colombo

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Sam Taplin

Sam Taplin grew up in a beautiful valley in Yorkshire, where he dreamed of being a writer, and after three years reading other people's books at university he started writing his own. He's been doing it ever since. When he's not writing about lonely rabbits or inquisitive bears, he likes doing card tricks, writing songs and playing long games of chess by the fire.

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Matthew Cordell

Matthew Cordell is the acclaimed author and illustrator of the 2018 Caldecott winner Wolf in the Snow. He is also the author and illustrator of Trouble Gum and the illustrator of If the S in Moose Comes Loose, Toot Toot Zoom!, Mighty Casey, Righty and Lefty, and Toby and the Snowflakes, which was written by his wife. Matthew lives in the suburbs of Chicago with his wife, writer Julie Halpern, and their daughter, Romy.

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Richard Jones

Librarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads database.

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Todd Sturgell

Todd Sturgell is an illustrator and author. He lives, draws, and hikes in the North Carolina mountains with his amazing daughters and an overactive rescue dog, Max (named after his favorite picture book character).
He loves to draw dinosaurs, mysterious creatures, and characters with big dreams. He is drawn to stories that explore childhood imagination, stem-related themes, and journeys full of wonder.

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Tracy Darnton

Tracy Darnton is a writer for young adults who loves writing thought-provoking, intelligent thrillers.

A former solicitor, she has an MA in Writing for Young People. She enjoys discussing books with YA reading groups or appearing on panels. She teaches creative writing.

She loves board games, puzzles and escape rooms. Bookshops are her happy place.
Tracy lives in the countryside near Bath where she dreams up her killer endings.

Ready or Not
May 2022

The Truth About Lies - reprinted with new cover in 2023

Shortlisted for the Waterstones Children's Book Prize.
World Book Night title 2020
'Thought-provoking and crisply written'
Guardian

The Rules
'Heart-thuddingly nervy thriller' The Financial Times
'This tense, taut novel is chillingly believable' The

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Nikkolas Smith

Nikkolas Smith is an Artivist, Concept Artist, Children's Books Author, Film Illustrator, and Movie Poster Designer.
He is also a Master of Architecture recipient from Hampton University. After designing theme parks at Walt Disney Imagineering for 11 years, he has written and illustrated picture books such as The Artivist , The Golden Girls of Rio (nominated for an NAACP Image Award), My Hair Is Poofy And That's Okay, and World Cup Women.

Nikkolas is a proud 2016 White House Innovators of Color fellow, and he is the creator of the "2023 Marvel Artist Series," an apparel line featuring Black superheroes, in collaboration with Target.

As an illustrator of color, Nikkolas creates captivating art that can spark important conversations in today's w

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Emily Arrow

My journey began with a profound love for both music and education. With an undergraduate degree from Berklee College of Music and currently earning my Master of Arts in Teaching, I’ve dedicated my career to merging these passions. My goal is to create engaging, innovative experiences that inspire children to embrace literacy through the joyful power of music. Through my work as an experienced teacher, author, and award-winning songwriter, I strive to ignite a love of reading and self-expression in the next generation.

I am a consultant for children’s film and television programming and I offer teaching residencies and workshops around the country at schools, libraries, and arts-based organizations. I am also a Writing Instructor for Litera

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LeVar Burton

Levardis Robert Martyn "LeVar" Burton Jr. is an actor, director, and educator who has been an icon for more than 35 years. He was the host and producer of the influential television program Reading Rainbow for more than three decades, and starred in the TV miniseries Roots and on Star Trek: The Next Generation. He lives in Sherman Oaks, California.

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Lourdes Heuer

Lourdes Heuer is a children's author, poet, translator, and college professor.

She holds an MFA in Writing from the Vermont College of Fine Arts and is Associate Professor of English at Broward College.

She currently lives in South Florida with her husband, son, and many dogs.

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Bill Martin

Bill Martin (born 1956) is a professor of Philosophy at DePaul University whose academic work concerns Derrida, Sartre, Marxist theory, Aesthetics, and critiques of Richard Rorty. Martin has also written on progressive rock bands including Yes

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Constance Lombardo

I an the author/illustrator of the middle grade series starring Mr. Puffball. My first picture book, Everybody Says Meow, has cats AND a dog, a duck, and more (and I drew them!) My other two picture books are Tiny Spoon vs Little Fork (illustrated by Dan and Jason,) and Itty Bitty Betty Blob (illustrated by Micah Player.)

I like bookstores, museums non-scary movies, swimming holes, and taking walks with my old beagle, Louie.

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Maggie Edkins Willis

Maggie Edkins Willis grew up on the southern coast of Maine and studied design and art history at Penn. For seven years, she worked in-house for two major children’s publishers, designing, art directing, and illustrating dozens of covers. She worked on Newbery Medal-winners, Printz Honor recipients, a National Book Award shortlisted title, and numerous New York Times bestsellers.

A full-time author/illustrator, Maggie lives in New Jersey with her family.

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Cecilia Ruiz

Cecilia Ruiz is an illustrator and graphic designer living and working in New York. She obtained a BFA in Graphic Design from Universidad Iberoamericana in Mexico City and a MFA in Illustration at the School of Visual Arts in New York City. The Book of Memory Gaps is her first book.

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Christina Uss

Christina Uss has ridden her bicycle across the United States both lengthwise and widthwise, and has worked as an adventure tour guide in fifteen states, leading cyclists of all ages through various mountains’ majesty and all kinds of fruited plains.
Even more than pedaling across state lines, Christina loves books, especially ones that remind us all that the world is wonderful, weird place. She lives in Western Massachusetts with her family and will always wave hello if she sees you out riding.

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Sandra Salsbury

I'm Sandra Salsbury, a children's book author and illustrator.

I was born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area, where I received a BFA and MFA in illustration from the Academy of Art University.

I am the author/illustrator of THE BABY WHO STAYED AWAKE FOREVER (Doubleday Books for Young Readers 2025), BEST FRIEND IN THE WHOLE WORLD (Peachtree 2021), and SPRECKLE'S SNACK SURPRISE (Peachtree 2023), as well as the illustrator of various other books. I live in Berkeley with my husband, daughters, and numerous house plants. The chickens live next door.

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Kiese Laymon

Kiese Laymon is a black southern writer, born and raised in Jackson, Mississippi. Laymon attended Millsaps College and Jackson State University before graduating from Oberlin College. He earned an MFA from Indiana University and is the author of the forthcoming novel, Long Division in June 2013 and a collection of essays, How to Slowly Kill Yourself and Others in America in August 2013. Laymon is a contributing editor at gawker.com. He has written essays and stories for numerous publications including Esquire, ESPN.com, NPR, Gawker, Truthout.com, Longman’s Hip Hop Reader, Mythium and Politics and Culture. Laymon is currently an Associate Professor of English, Creative Writing and co-director of Africana Studies at Vassar College.

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Regina Linke

Regina Linke is a Taiwanese American artist specializing in Chinese gongbi-style painting, an ancient form of brush painting that depicts narrative subjects in colorful high detail. She enjoys writing and illustrating stories that celebrate East Asian folklore and philosophy in a modern way. Regina lives with her family in Rhode Island, in the United States.

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Steve Antony

Since his 2014 debut, Steve Antony has so far written and illustrated over 20 picture books, including the Mr Panda series, The Queen Collection, Unplugged, Green Lizards Vs Red Rectangles, Amazing and You Can. Steve has been nominated seven times and long listed once for the Kate Greenaway Medal. The Queen's Hat was adapted into a musical concert by the London Symphony Orchestra and won the Evening Standard's Oscar's Book Prize. His award winning Mr Panda series has so far sold over one million copies worldwide and has been optioned for TV. Steve also illustrated Tim Minchin's When I Grow Up, a cover of the Famous Five and the all-new Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (adapted by Peter Bently). He has contributed work to the LGBTQ+ Pride YA antholog

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David Covell

David Covell grew up in the wilds of Maine and only came home when it was time for dinner. After earning a BFA from Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh he moved to Burlington, Vermont where his work for Burton Snowboards was instrumental in creating the design culture of alternative sports. Today, he works as a graphic designer in New York City, and his work has been seen around the world and in the permanent collection of the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum. Run Wild is David’s third picture book – one he hopes will inspire everyone to get outside and explore!

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T.L. McBeth

T. L. McBeth was born in Findlay, Ohio. As a child, he grew up reading Dr. Seuss and H. A. & Margret Rey (although he mainly looked at the pictures). He studied illustration in college where he developed a love for expressive and minimal characters. In 2015, he moved to New York City to pursue an illustration career and he is currently lucky enough to illustrate picture books full time. He now lives in Bloomington, Indiana and enjoys working from his small home studio in the middle of nowhere. When he does leave the house, he likes to watch the dogs in the neighborhood dog park and visit bookstores for inspiration. He is the illustrator of Stegothesaurus, Triceratopposite, Ogilvy, Ducks! and the Big Words Small Stories series, and the autho

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Faustin Charles

Faustin Charles was born in Trinidad in 1944 and his passion for writing started when he was still at school. As there are no publishing houses in the Caribbean, he came to the conclusion that he would have to move to Britain or the United States in order to have a career.
He has been regularly published since 1969 but has not confined his talents to the written word.. He is passionate about the culture, myths and folktales of the whole Caribbean area and has worked tirelessly to promote knowledge, interest and understanding amongst ex-patriots and his adopted countrymen alike.
He has been the Community Literacy Officer in Enfield since 1997 and has encouraged many youngsters to realise the richness and pleasure of the written word. He undert

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Meera Trehan

Meera Trehan is a former practicing attorney who has worked on a range of civil rights issues, including disability rights. Indian-American like her character Asha, she lives outside of Washington, DC, with her family. This is her first novel, based in part on the experiences of one of her children, who is autistic.

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Brianne Farley

Brianne Farley is an author and illustrator of picture books. Her debut, Ike's Incredible Ink, was awarded the Marion Vannett Ridgway Book Award Honor for debut authors and was selected for the Society of Illustrators Original Art Show. She also illustrates the picture book series Charlotte the Scientist is Squished by Camille Andros, which was a Portland Best Book, a Pennsylvania Young Reader's Choice Award, and was on the LITA Notable List. Brianne received her MFA in Illustration from the Savannah College of Art and Design; she now lives in Traverse City, Michigan.

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Marc González Rossell

Marc González Rossell is an illustrator capable of creating worlds where drawing tells stories, evokes emotions, and transports the viewer. He has built a versatile career, working on projects for both children and adults, and collaborating across publishing, music, and gastronomy. His work stands out for its poetic and imaginative vision, with a freshness that defines him as a creator. His first picture book, Octavio and His Glasses, was published in Spain by Tres Tristes Tigres and later translated and published in the United States and Canada by Kids Can Press.

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Jade Orlando

I’m Jade, an illustrator living in Atlanta, Georgia. In 2018, I left my job of seven years as a staff children’s apparel artist to freelance full-time. My work can be found in books, apparel, advertising and licensing, with clients from Hallmark to the ACLU. I live in the ‘burbs with my husband, three cats, and a Greyhound named Petra. When I’m not illustrating, you can usually find me curled up with my pets and a really good book.

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Betsy Bird

Total similar authors (49)