John Parra

John Parra is a best-selling, award-winning artist, illustrator, author, designer, and educator, celebrated for his vibrant, Latino-themed children’s picture books. Over the course of his career, he has garnered numerous accolades, including three American Library Association Pura Belpré Honors, two Golden Kite Awards from SCBWI, two Christopher’s Awards, and the 2023 Américas Award. His illustrated book Frida Kahlo and Her Animalitos was named one of the New York Times Best Illustrated Children’s Books of the Year, while his debut as both author and illustrator, Growing an Artist: The Story of a Landscaper and His Son, has earned widespread praise. His recent book, Spanish Is the Language of My Family, has received six starred reviews and

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David Kirk

David Kirk is the creator of children's books that follow the character Miss Spider. Before writing books, he made colorful toys that were sold in hand-painted boxes. He was urged to write children's books when his toys caught the interest of a book packager. It wasn't difficult to figure out what he would use as characters in his stories: his daughter, Violet, had a liking for bugs.
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There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
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Alice B. McGinty

Alice Blumenthal McGinty is an American writer of children's books.
McGinty was born in 1963 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. She attended Indiana University and the University of Illinois. McGinty is Jewish. She is a member of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators.
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Tomie dePaola

Tomie dePaola (pronounced Tommy da-POW-la) was best known for his books for children.

He had a five-decade writing and illustrating career during which he published more than 270 books, including 26 Fairmount Avenue, Strega Nona, and Meet the Barkers.

Tomie dePaola and his work have been recognized with the Caldecott Honor Award, the Newbery Honor Award, the Laura Ingalls Wilder Award, and the New Hampshire Governor's Arts Award of Living Treasure.
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Lane Smith

Lane Smith was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma, but moved to Corona, California at a young age. He spent summers in Tulsa, however, and cites experiences there as inspirations for his work, saying that "[o]nce you've seen a 100-foot cement buffalo on top of a donut-stand (sic) in the middle of nowhere, you're never the same."

He studied art in college at the encouragement of his high school art teacher, helping to pay for it by working as a janitor at Disneyland. He graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in illustration, and moved to New York City, where he was hired to do illustrations for various publications including Time, Mother Jones, and Ms..

Smith is married to Molly Leach, who is a book designer and designed the Smith/Scieszka collaboration.
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Catherine Rayner

See also Catherine Rayner for works on the Bronte sisters

Award winning author and illustrator Catherine Rayner studied Illustration at Edinburgh College of art. She fell in love with the city and still lives there with her husband, young son and a handful of creatures: Shannon the horse, Ena the grey cat and a goldfish called Richard.

She finds huge inspiration in her pets and often uses them as models, frequently asking Ena to pose so that she can study her posture and movement. Then she translates sketches of Ena into characters such as dragons and hares, not to mention moose and bears! But it was creatures of a wilder kind that inspired her first picture book, Augustus and His Smile - Catherine spent hours and hours watching and sketching
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Matt de la Peña

Matt de la Peña is the New York Times best-selling, Newbery-medal-winning author of six young adult novels and four picture books. Matt received his MFA in creative writing from San Diego State University and his BA from the University of the Pacific, where he attended school on a full athletic scholarship for basketball. de la Peña currently lives in Brooklyn, NY. He teaches creative writing and visits high schools and colleges throughout the country.

Visit Matt at: mattdelapena.com
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Rébecca Dautremer

BIOGRAPHY

Rébecca Dautremer was born in 1971 in Gap in the South of France (Hautes Alpes). She attended classes in the ENSAD of Paris and got a degree in graphic edition in 1995. She afterwards became a graphic editor and illustrator. A few years ago, she started to write books of her own. Now living in Paris with her husband Taï-Marc Lethanh and their three children, she also works for the press for children (Milan-Presse and Fleurus-Presse), school publishers, and in advertising.

WORK

Her picture books are very poetic, with a hint of humour. Inspired by fairy tales, she offers new and more entertaining stories, featuring Babayaga, an ogress, a funny Cyrano, and weird princesses like P?tsec and Quart de Lune. Rébecca's recipe is : warm colo
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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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Anita Yasuda

Author of UP, UP, EVER UP: JUNKO TABEI'S PIONEERING EVEREST CLIMB, illustrated by Yuko Shimizu (Clarion, 2024)- a Junior Library Guild Gold Selection, DIWALI: A FESTIVAL OF LIGHT, illustrated by Darshika Varma (Penguin Random House, 2024), and BOLLYWOOD BEAT, illustrated by Devika Oza (Kids Can Press, 2026), as well as many other children's books. Represented by Lori Steel of SteelWorks Literary.
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Peter Brown

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.

Peter Brown is an American writer and illustrator who is best known for children's picture books.

"Peter has always loved telling stories. Growing up in New Jersey, he told stories by drawing whimsical characters and scenes from his imagination. Then, as a teenager, he fell in love with writing, and told his tales with words. While studying illustration at Art Center College of Design, Peter’s love of both words and pictures led him to take several courses on children’s books, and before long he knew he’d found his calling.

After graduating from Art Center Peter moved to New York City to be closer to the publishing in
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Michael Hall

Michael Hall is the author/illustrator of The New York Times bestseller, My Heart Is Like a Zoo, as well as the critically acclaimed Perfect Square, It’s an Orange Aardvark, Red: A Crayon’s Story, and Frankencrayon.

Before becoming a children’s author, Michael was an award-winning graphic designer whose work — including graphic identities for the City of Saint Paul, Macalester College, the Minnesota Historical Society, and the Hennepin County Medical Center — has been widely recognized for its simple and engaging approach.

Michael lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

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

Thomas Harding is a bestselling author whose books have been translated into more than 20 languages. He has written for the Sunday Times, the Washington Post and the Guardian, among other publications.

He is the author of HANNS AND RUDOLF which won the JQ-Wingate Prize for Non-Fiction; THE HOUSE BY THE LAKE, which was shortlisted for the Costa Biography Award; and BLOOD ON THE PAGE which won the Crime Writers’ Association “Golden Dagger Award for Non-Fiction”. For all his books, reviews and updates, go to thomasharding.com and follow him on X/ twitter @thomasharding
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Beth Ferry

Beth Ferry is the author of the picture books Stick and Stone and Land Shark. Her family has cared for myriad pets, including two land sharks, a hedgehog, a blue-tongued skink, and a heap of hamsters, but her absolutely perfect pet is an English bulldog named Winston. She lives in New Jersey.
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Rio Cortez

Rio Cortez is the New York Times bestselling author of picture books The ABCs of Black History (Workman, 2020) and The River Is My Sea (S&S, 2024). Her debut poetry collection, Golden Ax, is forthcoming from Penguin Poets this August, 2022.

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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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Casey Lyall

Casey Lyall lives in Southwestern Ontario where she also works at her local library. When she’s not writing, Casey loves to bake, doodle, and learn extremely groan-worthy jokes to tell her friends.

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Maddie Frost

Maddie Frost has written and illustrated many books for young readers, including Wakey Birds. She lives with her husband and dog outside Boston.
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Zoey Abbott

Zoey Abbott is a graduate in Women’s Studies and History from Smith College. She spent four years living and painting in Japan. She currently lives in Portland, Oregon, with her husband, kids and a large dog named Carrots.
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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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Joanna Ho

Joanna Ho Bradshaw is the author of Eyes that Kiss in the Corners (HarperCollins, Jan 2021), Playing at the Border: A Story of Yo-Yo Ma (HarperCollins, Fall 2021), and One Day (Winter 2023). She is a writer and educator with a passion for anti-bias, anti-racism and equity work. She holds a BA in psychology from the University of Pennsylvania, and a master’s from the Principal Leadership Institute at Berkeley. She has been an English teacher, a dean, the designer of an alternative-to-prison program, and a professional development mastermind. She is currently the vice principal of a high school in the Bay Area, where she survives on homemade chocolate chip cookies, outdoor adventures, and dance parties with her kids. Keep your eyes open for m
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Jackie Morera

Jackie Morera is a Cuban American author of books for young-at-heart readers. Born and raised in Miami, Jackie now lives with her family in Central Florida. She is a wife, mom, and wildlife lover who is never far from her animal familiar: currently, a floppy black Lab named Tanner. Outside of writing, Jackie enjoys talking to the bees, caterpillars, and butterflies that visit her pollinator garden, savoring pastelitos, and cozying up for a good nap. Jackie is an active member of Las Musas and a 2025 PB Rising Stars Mentor. Jackie is the author of TOGETHER WE REMEMBER, illustrated by Violeta Encarnación; ABUELO'S FLOWER SHOP, illustrated by Deise Lino; and more!
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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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Rio Cortez

Rio Cortez is the New York Times bestselling author of picture books The ABCs of Black History (Workman, 2020) and The River Is My Sea (S&S, 2024). Her debut poetry collection, Golden Ax, is forthcoming from Penguin Poets this August, 2022.

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