Julie Leung
JULIE LEUNG is an award-winning author of numerous children’s books. Her picture book, The Truth About Dragons is a Caldecott Honor and winner of the Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature. By day, she works in book publishing. She was raised in the sleepy suburbs of Atlanta, Georgia, though it may be more accurate to say she grew up in Oz and came of age in Middle-earth.
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Gwendolyn Brooks
Gwendolyn Elizabeth Brooks is the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Annie Allen and one of the most celebrated Black poets. She also served as consultant in poetry to the Library of Congress—the first Black woman to hold that position. She was the poet laureate for the state of Illinois for over thirty years, a National Women’s Hall of Fame inductee, and the recipient of a lifetime achievement award from the National Endowment for the Arts. Her works include We Are Shining, Bronzeville Boys and Girls, A Street in Bronzeville, In the Mecca, The Bean Eaters, and Maud Martha.
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Geoffrey Hayes
Geoffrey Hayes has written and illustrated over forty children’s books, including the extremely popular series of early readers Otto and Uncle Tooth, the classic Bear By Himself, and When the Wind Blew by Caldecott Medal-winning author Margaret Wise Brown.
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Elissa Brent Weissman
Elissa Brent Weissman is an award-winning author of novels for young readers. Best known for the popular Nerd Camp series, she and her books have been featured in Entertainment Weekly, The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times, The Huffington Post, NPR’s “Here and Now,” and more. Named one of CBS Baltimore’s Best Authors in Maryland, Elissa spent many years in Baltimore City, where she taught creative writing to children, college students, and adults. She currently lives in Christchurch, New Zealand with her husband and their two super cool nerds-in-training.
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Jessica Lanan
Jessica Lanan is the author and illustrator of Jumper: A Day in the Life of a Backyard Jumping Spider and The Fisherman and the Whale, a Colorado Book Award finalist and winner of the Bull-Bransom Award for wildlife art. She has illustrated many other books including The Lost Package by Richard Ho, Just Right: Searching for the Goldilocks Planet by Curtis Manley and the upcoming Thank You Moon by Melissa Stewart. Jessica aims to help young readers discover the beauty and diversity of their world by creating picture books that are inspiring, accessible, and memorable. She lives in Boulder, Colorado.
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Cece Bell
I'm an author and an illustrator, and sadly not a jazz pianist. I live in an old church in the hills of Virginia with my husband, author Tom Angleberger. I work right next door in a new-ish barn. I've written and illustrated a bunch of books for kids and was lucky enough to get a Geisel Honor for one of 'em. If you want to know more about my hearing loss or my childhood (or both), check out my first graphic novel, El Deafo. It's only slightly fictionalized, honest! I'm at www.cecebell.com if you want to see more weird stuff.
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David Elliott
David Elliott is the author of THE COOL CRAZY CRICKETS and THE TRANSMOGRIFICATION OF ROSCOE WIZZLE. He says of AND HERE'S TO YOU!, "My neighbor’s rooster and I were having a disagreement. I wanted to sleep in the morning; he wanted to crow. The rooster won, of course. The first verse of AND HERE'S TO YOU! is a tribute to his victory and to the joys found in simply following your nature."
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Eliza Wheeler
Eliza Wheeler is the author-illustrator of MISS MAPLE'S SEEDS (Penguin), which debuted on the New York Times Bestseller list. She is also the illustrator of the Newbery Honor winning novel by Holly Black, DOLL BONES (Simon & Schuster), and Mara Rockliff's picture book THE GRUDGE KEEPER (Peachtree). Eliza is the recipient of numerous Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators awards, including the Grand Prize Award for best portfolio at the 2011 SCBWI National Conference.
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Eliza grew up in northern Wisconsin in a family of teachers, musicians, and artists. Some of the strongest influences on her creativity have been the wild Wisconsin seasons, canoeing the Brule River, picking blueberries with her grandmother, and digging through the -
Firoozeh Dumas
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Firoozeh Dumas was born in Abadan, Iran and moved to Whittier, California at the age of seven. After a two-year stay, she and her family moved back to Iran and lived in Ahvaz and Tehran. Two years later, they moved back to Whittier, then to Newport Beach. Firoozeh then attended UC Berkeley where she met and married a Frenchman. -
George Takei
George Hosato Takei is an American actor best known for his role in the TV series Star Trek, in which he played the helmsman Hikaru Sulu on the USS Enterprise. His baritone earned Takei recurring appearances as the announcer for The Howard Stern Show starting on January 9, 2006, after that show's move to satellite radio.
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Viet Thanh Nguyen
Viet Thanh Nguyen was born in Vietnam and raised in America. He is the author of “The Sympathizer,” awarded the 2016 Pulitzer Prize in Fiction. His most recent book, “To Save and to Destroy,” explores the idea of being an outsider. He is also the author of the short story collection “The Refugees;” the nonfiction book “Nothing Ever Dies,” a finalist for the National Book Award and the National Book Critics Circle Award; the children's book “Simone” along with illustrator Minnie Phan; the sequel to “The Sympathizer,” “The Committed;” the nonfiction book “A Man of Two Faces: A Memoir, A History, A Memorial,” longlisted for the National Book Award; and is the editor of an anthology of refugee writing, “The Displaced,” as well as a co-editor of
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Loren Long
I grew up in Lexington, Kentucky in the 1970’s. We had no artists of any kind in the family. We didn’t know any artists. I liked sports, especially baseball. My mother read to me a lot. But I have to admit, my favorite subject in school was gym class. I also liked to draw. My parents encouraged me to keep drawing.
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Kyo Maclear
Kyo Maclear is an essayist, novelist and children’s author. She was born in London, England and moved to Toronto at the age of four with her British father (a foreign correspondent and documentary filmmaker) and Japanese mother (a painter and art dealer).
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Her books have been translated into eighteen languages, published in over twenty-five countries, and garnered nominations from the Hilary Weston Writers’ Trust Prize for Nonfiction, the Governor General’s Literary Awards, the TD Canadian Children’s Literature Awards, the Amazon.ca First Novel Award, the National Magazine Awards, among other honours.
Unearthing: a Story of Tangled Love and Family Secrets (2023) was a national bestseller and awarded the Governor General’s Literary Award for No -
David Unger
Librarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads database.
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Sally Nicholls
Sally Nicholls is a prize-winning British children's author. She was born and grew up in Stockton-on-Tees. On finishing school, Nicholls chose to travel around the world. Her first novel was Ways to Live Forever.
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E.B. White
Elwyn Brooks White was a leading American essayist, author, humorist, poet and literary stylist and author of such beloved children's classics as Charlotte's Web, Stuart Little, and The Trumpet of the Swan. He graduated from Cornell University in 1921 and, five or six years later, joined the staff of The New Yorker magazine. He authored over seventeen books of prose and poetry and was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Letters in 1973.
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White always said that he found writing difficult and bad for one's disposition.
Mr. White has won countless awards, including the 1971 National Medal for Literature and the Laura Ingalls Wilder Medal, which commended him for making “a substantial and lasting contribution to literature for children.” -
Nana Ekua Brew-Hammond
Nana Ekua Brew-Hammond's first book Powder Necklace (Washington Square Press 2010) is a YA tome loosely inspired by her experience attending a girls’ boarding school in the Central Region of Ghana, West Africa. Publishers Weekly called the book “a winning debut” while Library Journal recommended it "for readers who enjoyed Edwidge Danticat's Breath, Eyes, Memory or Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's Purple Hibiscus".
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In 2014, she was included among some of the most promising African authors under 39 in the Hay Festival-Rainbow Book Club Project Africa39: New Writing from Africa South of the Sahara (Bloomsbury). The Africa39 anthology was published in celebration of UNESCO's designation of Port Harcourt, Nigeria as 2014 World Book Capital. Most rece -
Davina Bell
Davina Bell is a writer for young people of many ages, and a children’s book editor. Her award-winning and Notable picture books include All the Ways To Be Smart, All of the Factors of Why I Love Tractors, Under the Love Umbrella, The Underwater Fancy-dress Parade, Oh Albert! and Hattie Helps Out. She is also the author of the Alice books in Penguin’s best-selling Our Australian Girl series, the Lemonade Jones series of Junior Fiction, and the Corner Park Clubhouse series (Middle Grade). Her debut young-adult novel will be published in June 2020.
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Having been a Senior Editor at Penguin Books, she now works on the children’s list at Affirm Press in Melbourne. A lover of words and ideas in many forms, Davina regularly travels the country, speak -
Erin Frankel
Erin Frankel is a children’s book author. She loves telling stories of empathy and wonder. Her picture books include A Plate of Hope: The Inspiring Story of Chef José Andrés and World Central Kitchen, which is an Orbis Pictus Award Recommended Title and a Texas Blue Bonnet Award Nominee, as well as Remembering Barkley, and the Weird! series. Forthcoming titles include Mary Oliver, Holding on to Wonder (2025) and Piece by Piece: How Stephen Sondheim Made Musical Puzzles Come Alive (2026). Erin lives with her family in Pittsburgh, where she writes, teaches, and hopes. She is represented by Lindsay Auld at Writers House. You can also connect with her on Instagram @erinfrankelwrites
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Brendan Wenzel
Brendan Wenzel is an author and illustrator based in upstate New York. His debut picture book, They All Saw a Cat, was a New York Times bestseller and the recipient of a 2017 Caldecott Honor. An ardent conservationist, he is a proud collaborator with many organizations working to ensure the future of wild places and threatened species.
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Maggie Tokuda-Hall
Maggie Tokuda-Hall (1984 -) is the author of Also an Octopus, The Mermaid the Witch and the Sea, its sequel The Siren, The Spy and The Song, Squad, and Love in the Library.
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She lives in Oakland, California with her husband, children, and objectively perfect dog. -
Diane Magras
Diane Magras (she/her) is award-winning author of the NYT Editors' Choice The Mad Wolf's Daughter , as well as its sequel, The Hunt for the Mad Wolf's Daughter , and the upcoming Secret of the Shadow Beasts
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An unabashed fan of libraries (where she wrote her first novel as a teenager), history (especially from cultures or people who’ve rarely had their story told), and the perfect cup of tea, Diane lives in Maine with her husband and son. She uses the pronouns she/her. -
Stacey Abrams
Stacey Abrams is an American politician, lawyer, author, and businesswoman who was the house minority leader for the Georgia General Assembly and state representative for the 89th House District. She is a Democrat.
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Abrams, one of six siblings, was born to Robert and Carolyn Abrams in Madison, Wisconsin and raised in Gulfport, Mississippi. The family moved to Atlanta where her parents pursued graduate school and later became Methodist ministers. She attended Avondale High School and was the school's first African-American valedictorian. While in high school, she was hired as a typist for a congressional campaign and was later hired as a speechwriter at age 17 based on the edits she made while typing.
In 1995, Abrams earned a Bachelor of Arts -
Dean Robbins
Dean Robbins writes nonfiction children’s picture books about his heroes. His award-winning books have been featured on Public Radio International and praised in The New York Times, USA Today, Los Angeles Times, and other publications, along with receiving starred reviews in Publishers Weekly, Booklist, Kirkus Reviews, and School Library Journal. They’ve been chosen for best-of-the-year honors by the American Library Association, New York Public Library, Chicago Public Library, and Children’s Book Council, among others, and "Two Friends: Susan B. Anthony and Frederick Douglass" was adapted as a short film by Weston Wood Studios. As a journalist, Robbins has served as the editor of Isthmus and contributed to USA Today, The New York Daily New
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Vashti Harrison
Vashti Harrison, author and illustrator of the bestselling Little Leaders: Bold Women in Black History, is an artist, author, and filmmaker with a passion for storytelling. She earned her MFA in film and video from California Institute of the Arts, where she snuck into animation and illustration classes to learn from Disney and DreamWorks legends. There she rekindled a love for drawing and painting. Now she uses her love for both film and illustration to craft beautiful stories for children.
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Doug Salati
Doug Salati is an illustrator living in New York City. He received his MFA from the School of Visual Arts and was a 2015 Sendak Fellow. His illustrations have received recognition from American Illustration, 3x3, and the Society of Illustrators. In a Small Kingdom, written by Tomie dePaola, is his debut picture book.
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Vicki Johnson
Vicki Johnson's debut picture book Molly's Tuxedo illustrated by Gillian Reid and published by Little Bee Books (June 27, 2023), garnered multiple accolades: 2024 NCTE Charlotte Huck Award for Outstanding Fiction for Children Recommended Book, a CBC Top Ten Teacher Favorites Awards selection, 2024 ALA Rainbow List Selection, and a 2023 Ontario Library Association Top Ten 'Best Bets' Picture Books selection among others. Johnson's second book with the same creative team, Mac Wears a Hat, is available for preorder now. It releases April, 2026.
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Born and raised in rural GA, Johnson is a first-gen graduate of Smith College and Emory Law School, and also studied in the Writing for Children & Young Adults MFA program at VCFA. Follow her on Insta, T -
Richard Jackson
Richard Jackson has been an editor/publisher of children’s books since 1962. He gave the May Hill Arbuthnot Honor Lecture in 2005, the year of his official retirement, but is still working--now as an author himself. He lives with his wife and near his grandchildren in Towson, Maryland.
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Mariana Llanos
Mariana Llanos is a children’s books writer, poet, and translator. Born in Lima, Peru, she’s the author of several books including the 2024 Pura Belpre Honor Book and Oklahoma Book Award Finalist, Benita y las criaturas nocturnas/Benita and the Night Creatures, and the 2022 Oklahoma Book Award winner Run Little Chaski/Corre Pequeño Chaski!. Other titles include Luca's Bridge/El puente de Luca (2021 ALSC Notable Book Awards), Eunice and Kate (Paterson Prize Books for Young Readers) Kutu, the Tiny Inca Princess (Campoy-Ada Awards), the audio story Qoritika and the Three Alpacas, featured on Tiny Tales by Pampers Podcast produced by Sony Music Entertainment. among others. In 2017, Mariana received the Oklahoma Human Rights Award for her work v
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Sydney Smith
Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
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Sydney Smith is a Canadian illustrator of children's books. He was awarded the 2015 Governor General’s Award For Illustrated Children’s Books for Sidewalk Flowers, a wordless picture book which he illustrated with author JonArno Lawson.
Smith studied drawing and printmaking at NSCAD University in Halifax, Nova Scotia. It was while studying there that he realized his interest for illustrating children's books. -
Kim Krans
Kim Krans is an artist, author, and the creator of The New York Times bestseller, The Wild Unknown Tarot. Her publications include ABC Dream, 123 Dream, Hello Sacred Life, and the Animal Spirit Deck and Guidebook. Along with husband and collaborator Arjan Miranda, Kim curates The Wild Unknown, an arts collective offering publications, artwork, music, and events that activate the forces of creativity and radical transformation.
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Her work has been featured in The New York Times, New York Magazine, NYLON, Teen Vogue, Design*Sponge, and Marie Claire. She lives in Portland, Oregon.
Find more of Kim's artwork, creations, and other modern tools for self-reflection through her website, www.thewildunknown.com. -
Carin Berger
Carin Berger is an award-winning designer and illustrator. She is the creator of Not So True Stories & Unreasonable Rhymes and All Mixed Up, and the illustrator of Behold the Bold Umbrellaphant, by Jack Prelutsky. She won the Society of Illustrators Founder's Award in 2006, and Publishers Weekly called her "one to watch." Carin Berger lives with her family in New York City.
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Gabriel Evans
Gabriel is an international-s Australian picture book author and illustrator.
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His books have been shortlisted in the Children's Book Council's Picture Book of the Year award, sold into sixteen countries and reviewed in the New York Times. -
Jonathan Graziano
Jonathan Graziano is a Richester, NY, native who currently resides in New York City with his geriatric pug and muse, Noodle. Together they enjoy people watching, snacking, and spending time together on the couch. It is Jonathan's hope (he has learned not to speak for Noodle) that people find joy in this story and seek to rescue or adopt a dog the next time they want to bring one into their family.
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Flavia Z. Drago
Flavia Z. Drago was born and raised in Mexico City. As a child, she wanted to be a mermaid. When that didn’t happen, she began her career as a graphic designer and a children’s book illustrator. She loves color, textures, and shapes and enjoys creating them with different materials and a bit of digital sorcery. Her first picture book, Gustavo, the Shy Ghost, has been highly acclaimed. She lives in Mexico.
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Kirsten W. Larson
Author of WOOD, WIRE, WINGS: EMMA LILIAN TODD INVENTS AN AIRPLANE illustrated by Tracy Subisak (Calkins Creek, 2020), A TRUE WONDER: The Comic Book Hero Who Changed Everything (Clarion, 2021), and THE FIRE OF STARS: The Life and Brilliance of the Woman Who Discovered What Stars Are Made Of, illustrated by Katherine Roy (Chronicle, 2022), THE LIGHT OF RESISTANCE, illustrated by Barbara McClinktock (Roaring Brook, 2023), as well as more than two dozen nonfiction books for young people. Represented by Lara Perkins of Andrea Brown Literary.
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Michelle Markel
Michelle Markel has written several notable nonfiction picture books, including the The Fantastic Jungles of Henri Rousseau, (PEN Picture Book Writing Award) Brave Girl: Clara and the Shirtwaist Makers’ Strike of 1909 (Jane Addams Flora Stieglitz Award; Orbis Pictus Honor) and Tyrannosaurus Math (Cooperative Children’s Book Center Choice). Her upcoming title is Balderdash: John Newbery and the Boisterous Birth of Children’s Books. She teaches classes in writing for children at UCLA Extension’s Writers Program, and is a founding member of the Children's Authors Network. Visit her at her website:www.michellemarkel.com
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Joanna Que
Joanna Que is fascinated by the beauty of nature and how it can be experienced in a multitude of perspectives, both during the day and night.
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Apart from the love for stories and writing, she enjoys making things with her hands and usually makes toys for kids and kids at heart via her handmade brand—Hiraya Tree. -
Angela Joy
Angela Joy was born and raised in Minneapolis, MN. Before graduating Summa Cum Laude from the University of Minnesota, Angela attended New York University and Spelman College. With a move to Los Angeles, CA, Angela traveled extensively as a background vocalist, also working in television and movie soundtracks.
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Currently, Angela is an author, substitute teacher, Girl Scout Cookie Manager, Troop Leader, 5th grade book club moderator, and music lover. She is the co-founder of the McGaugh International Culture Club. She lives in Southern California with her husband and two children, but will always call Minneapolis home. Black Is a Rainbow Color is her first book. -
Katy S. Duffield
Katy is the award-winning author of more than forty books for children.
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Her two most recent picture books are CROSSINGS: EXTRAORDINARY STRUCTURES FOR EXTRAORDINARY ANIMALS (illus. Mike Orodán, S&S/Beach Lane) and HOUSE FINDS A HOME (illus. Jen Corace, Viking Children's).
Katy also has two picture books forthcoming in 2026--WE ARE THE KEYSTONES (illus. Hannah Salyer, S&S/Beach Lane) and START YOUR ENGINES! (illus. Chiara Galletti, Sourcebooks).
Katy's work has also appeared in numerous children's magazines, and she has written for several educational publishers.
For more information about Katy and her work, please visit http://katyduffield.com/HOME.html. -
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).
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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. -
Xelena González
Xelena González practices the healing arts through writing and movement. She is a storyteller, dancer, and visiting author who centers self-love in her multi-disciplinary workshops for all ages. Her picture books include the award-winning titles ALL AROUND US and WHERE WONDER GROWS (Cinco Puntos Press, an imprint of Lee & Low Books). Her forthcoming title REMEMBERING (Simon & Schuster, 2023) is her third collaboration with dear friend and celebrated muralist Adriana M. Garcia.
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Her writing for adults includes poetry, essays, screenwriting, and a body of visionary fiction entitled LOTERIA REMEDIOS (Hay House, 2024). The curative card deck offers reflections, divinations, plant and animal medicine, and other tools for self-healing associated w -
Kiera Wright-Ruiz
Kiera Wright-Ruiz is a writer and recipe developer. She has written for publications like The New York Times, Food52, Serious Eats and The Kitchn. Her work explores the diversity of food and amplifies underrepresented communities. Her first book, I Want To Be Spaghetti!, explores how a little ramen packet finds self-love and belonging in a spaghetti-obsessed world. It will be available on July 2023 from Kokila. And her debut recipe book, The Half-Latinx Cookbook, publishes in 2025 from Harvest. When not writing, she is probably eating onigiri with her husband and dog somewhere in Tokyo, where she is based.
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Find more about her work @kierawrr and kierawrightruiz.com. -
Raj Haldar
Better known by his stage name Lushlife, Raj Haldar is an American rapper, composer, and producer from Philadelphia, PA.
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Josh Funk
Josh Funk is the author of the Lady Pancake & Sir French Toast series, the How to Code with Pearl and Pascal series, Dear Unicorn, Dear Dragon, My Pet Feet, the It's Not a Fairy Tale series, Lost in the Library and more. His books have sold more than half a million copies worldwide and been translated into a dozen languages.
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Josh grew up in New England and studied Computer Science in school. Today, he still lives in New England and when not writing Java code or Python scripts, he drinks Java coffee and writes manuscripts. Since the fall of 2015, Josh has presented (or virtually presented) at over 850 schools, classrooms, and libraries.
Josh is terrible at writing bios, so please help fill in the blanks. Josh enjoys _______ during ________ and -
Sam Lloyd
Sam Lloyd studied at Brighton University where she gained a BA Hons in Illustration. Now Sam is the author and illustrator of many successful picture books for children. Her picture books include Happy Day, Sad Dog which won the Sainsbury’s Baby Book Award in 2003, Mr Pusskins which won the Booktrust Pre-School Award in 2006 and the V & A Illustration Award. Most recently Calm Down Boris published by Templar in 2006 has been chosen by Richard and Judy for their Christmas Picks.
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As well as writing and illustrating books, Sam also enjoys yoga, swimming, camping and doing outdoorsy things. She has been all over the world, including travels to India and Australia. Sam also does a lot of voluntary work with children, painting murals. -
Laekan Zea Kemp
Laekan Zea Kemp is a writer living in Austin, Texas. Her debut novel, Somewhere Between Bitter and Sweet was a 2022 Pura Belpré Honor Recipient. She has three objectives when it comes to storytelling: to make people laugh, cry, and crave Mexican food. Her work celebrates Chicane grit, resilience, creativity, and joy while exploring themes of identity and mental health.
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Find her on social media @LaekanZeaKemp
http://www.laekanzeakemp.com/ -
Bahram Rahman
Bahram Rahman was born in Kabul, Afghanistan, and grew up during the civil war and the Taliban regime. He earned a medical degree at Kabul Medical University and a master’s degree in public policy at the University of Erfurt, Germany, while also working as an activist in Afghanistan in the areas of gender equality and youth political participation. Bahram came to Canada as a refugee in 2012, and today he is a senior policy advisor at the Ministry of Health in Ontario. His first picture book, Governor General’s Literary Award finalist The Library Bus, was praised by the New York Times for documenting the barriers to education experienced by girls in war-torn countries and their resilience and ingenuity in overcoming them.
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Kim Rogers
Kim Rogers is the author of Just Like Grandma, winner of the 2024 Charlotte Zolotow Award, 2024 Ezra Jack Keats Award Honor for Writer, illustrated by Julie Flett; A Letter for Bob, winner of the 2024 American Indian Youth Award (AIYA), 2024 Charlotte Zolotow Highly Commended Title, illustrated by Jonathan Nelson; and I Am Osage: How Clarence Tinker became the First Native American Major General, illustrated by Bobby Von Martin, all with HarperCollins/Heartdrum. She is a contributor to Ancestor Approved: Intertribal Stories for Kids (Heartdrum 2021). The cover, illustrated by Nicole Neidhardt, was inspired by Jessie, the protagonist in her short story, “Flying Together.” Her poem, “What is a Powwow” is also included. Kim is an enrolled memb
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Sarah Stewart
Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
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Wife of famed illustrator, David Small, Sarah Stewart has written a number of children's books. She grew up in Texas, and lives in Michigan with her husband.
http://us.macmillan.com/author/sarahs... -
Luisana Duarte Armendáriz
Luisana Duarte Armendáriz is a children’s book author that hails from Ciudad Juárez, México, the most fabulous and beautiful border city in the world (Juan Gabriel’s words, not hers). She holds a dual master’s degree in Children’s Literature and Writing for Children from Simmons College.
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Luisana has had a love affair with literature since she was a little girl. She loved going to the libraries in El Paso, TX, even though her library card read ‘Lupsana’ (her mom claims the typo was through no fault of her own). Her childhood, filled by Leo Lionni, Amelia Bedelia, and Hogwarts, inspired her to create books for children so that they may also fall in love with stories. -
Nikkolas Smith
Nikkolas Smith is an Artivist, Concept Artist, Children's Books Author, Film Illustrator, and Movie Poster Designer.
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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 -
Jiří Dvořák
Jirí Dvorák is an award-winning Czech author and plant biologist who combines his passion for biology and adventure in writing books. He has worked as a proofreader and editor of periodicals and currently is the editor-in-chief of the magazine Our Beautiful Garden. He lives and works in Prague.
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Michelle Sterling
I'm a speech-language pathologist, photographer and children's book author. My debut picture book When Lola Visits will be out on May 18, 2021. You can find me sharing the latest in picture books at:
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instagram.com/averyandaugustine
averyandaugustine.com -
Nabela Noor
Nabela Noor is a first-generation Bangladeshi American creator, activist, and entrepreneur. As a self-love advocate, Nabela utilizes her platforms to empower and inspire millions of people around the world to love the skin they’re in. Her work centers around her passion for representation and diversity with a commitment to uplifting stories and characters who are often unseen and underrepresented. Globally recognized for her “Pockets of Peace” content, you can learn more about the power of self-love through self-care on Nabela’s TikTok and Instagram @Nabela.
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Rob Kearney
Rob Kearney is a retired American professional strongman competitor. He won the Giants Live North American Open in 2017 and the Arnold International World Series Australia in 2019. He is also a four time qualifier for the World's Strongest Man competition, and a three time participant in the Arnold Strongman Classic. He is also a one-time American log lift record holder, lifting 475 lbs (215.8 kg) in 2020.
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Kearney retired after the 2024 World's Strongest Man in May 2024. -
Chitra Soundar
Chitra Soundar is originally from the culturally colourful India where traditions, festivals and mythology are a way of life. After six great years in the island city-state Singapore, Chitra now lives in London.
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Chitra's primary interest is in writing picture books and early & emergent readers. She enjoys retelling funny folktales from around the world, especially from India. -
Rafael López
Rafael López has received three Pura Belpré Award medals from the American Library Association for Dancing Hands, Drum Dream Girl and Book Fiesta! The illustrations created by López bring diverse characters to children’s books and he works to produce and promote books that reflect and honor the lives of all young people.
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His 2018 picture book release, The Day You Begin written by Jacqueline Woodson was a New York Times #1 Children’s Picture Books Bestseller and the recipient of the 2019 Jane Addams Children’s Book Award. Just Ask! Be Different, Be Brave, Be You, written by Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor focuses on differently abled kids working together to create a garden. The book is a #1 New York Times Children’s Picture Books Bests -
Corey Rosen Schwartz
Corey is the author of HOP! PLOP! (Walker, 2006), THE THREE NINJA PIGS (Putnam, 2012) GOLDI ROCKS AND THE THREE BEARS (Putnam, forthcoming) and NINJA RED (Putnam, forthcoming). Corey has no formal ninja training, but she sure can kick butt in Scrabble. She lives with three Knuckleheads in Warren, NJ.
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David Unger
Librarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads database.
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Alex Prud’homme
Alex Prud’homme is an American journalist and the author of several non-fiction books.
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Kaylin Melia George
Kaylin Melia George grew up listening to her mother's bedtime stories about Moloka'i. The planting of these early seeds inspired Kaylin to dedicate her life to storytelling. Kaylin began her professional journey in filmmaking as an internationally award-winning director and screenwriter. Her work has been recognized by the Academy and includes documentaries for some of the most prominent nonprofits in the world. With Aloha Everything, Kaylin found a story close to her heart and celebrates her Native Hawaiian ancestry. This is the story she has always dreamed of telling.
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Lois Ehlert
Lois Ehlert has created numerous inventive, celebrated, and bestselling picture books, including Chicka Chicka Boom Boom, Holey Moley, The Scraps Book, Mice, Ten Little Caterpillars, RRRalph, Lots of Spots, Boo to You!, Leaf Man, Waiting for Wings, Planting a Rainbow, Growing Vegetable Soup, and Color Zoo, which received a Caldecott Honor. She lived in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
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Rhiannon Giddens
Rhiannon Giddens cofounded the Grammy Award–winning Carolina Chocolate Drops and the Black female supergroup Our Native Daughters. She is the recipient of a 2022 Grammy Award for Best Folk Album for her collaboration with Francesco Turrisi on They’re Calling Me Home, and she has been nominated for additional Grammys as a soloist and collaborator. A musician, singer, songwriter, actor, librettist, and MacArthur Fellow, her many roles and honors include serving as artistic director at Silkroad and performing for the Obamas at the White House. Rhiannon Giddens lives in Ireland.
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Joyce Sidman
The Newbery Honor winner Joyce Sidman is today's foremost nature poet for children. Accolades for her books include two Caldecott Honors, a Lee Bennet Hopkins Award, winner of the Claudia Lews Award, and many stars and best of lists. For her award-winning body of work, she won the Award for Excellence in Poetry for Children. She lives in Wayzata, Minnesota. Visit www.joycesidman.com
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Gloria Amescua
Gloria Amescua (Ah MES qua) has been a writer since she was a child, writing poems and stories throughout her life. When she was a girl, she would climb into the cradle of an oak tree and enter the world of words. She is a poet and children’s book writer. Gloria loves books that reach a young person’s heart, head or funny bone and strives to do just that in her writing. Gloria is proud of her Mexican American heritage, and her writing reflects her interest in sharing cultural, historical, and social issues. Gloria’s latest picture book, Abuelita’s Song, illustrated by Mariyah Rahman, is inspired by her son and granddaughters.
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The Spanish edition of her award-winning picture book biography, Child of the Flower-Song People: Luz Jiménez, Daught -
Phillipa Soo
Phillipa Soo is an actor and singer, best known for originating the role of Eliza in Broadway's critically acclaimed Hamilton, which earned her a Grammy win and Tony and Emmy nominations. She has also starred as Cinderella in Into the Woods, for which she won another Grammy; as Guenevere in Aaron Sorkin's Broadway revival of Camelot; and in many other plays, musicals, television shows, and films. She resides in Brooklyn with her husband and fellow actor Steven Pasquale.
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Cori Doerrfeld
Cori Doerrfeld lives in Minneapolis, MN with her husband and two children. She received her undergrad degree in Studio Art from St. Olaf College and her Post Baccalaureate from the Minneapolis College of Art and Design. She has several published titles including many self authored/self illustrated books.
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Leo Dillon
Leo Dillon was a celebrated African-American magazine and book-cover artist, and a children's book author and illustrator. The vast majority of his work was done collaboratively with his wife, Diane Dillon, with whom he won his many awards, although a few early titles were solo projects.
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Born in Brooklyn in 1933, Lionel John Dillon was the son of Trinidadian immigrants, and was educated at the Parsons School of Design, after serving in the US Navy for three years. Here he met Diane Sorber, who was initially a fierce artistic competitor. Eventually the two married, and commenced a fifty-year collaborative career that produced over one hundred speculative fiction book and magazine covers, and numerous picture-book illustrations. They were joi -
Shawna J.C. Tenney
Shawna has had a love for art and drawing ever since her early childhood. Even at an early age she would draw her own stories for hours. She was highly influenced by her mom reading to her and taking her to the library. At the library, she always would go to the fairy tale section and find her favorite fairy tales, then try to copy the illustrations in the books.
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Shawna went into art in college, and in 2004 graduated with her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in illustration from Brigham Young University. A year later in 2005, she began her career as a freelance illustrator and has been illustrating and loving it ever since.
Since then, Shawna has created artwork for many children's books along with children's magazines, educational and religious -
Abby Wambach
ABBY WAMBACH is a two-time Olympic gold medalist, FIFA World Cup Champion, and the highest all-time international goal scorer for male and female soccer players. She is an activist for equality and inclusion and the New York Times bestselling author of Forward: A Memoir. Abby is co-founder of Wolfpack Endeavor, which is revolutionizing leadership development for women in the workplace and beyond through her champion mindset, individualized coaching, and team-bound focus. Abby lives in Florida with her wife and three children.
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Michaela Goade
Michaela Goade is an American illustrator. She won the 2021 Caldecott Medal for her illustrations in the book We Are Water Protectors written by Carole Lindstrom. She is the first Native American to win the award. She is of the Tlingit and Haida tribes.
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Adam Pottle
Adam Pottle's work spans multiple genres, from fiction and poetry to drama and creative nonfiction. His books include the novel Mantis Dreams, the novella The Bus, the memoir Voice, and the poetry collection Beautiful Mutants.
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Alex Latimer
Alex Latimer lives near the border of a national park so when not writing or drawing, he spends his free time shooing baboons out of his lounge. The Boy Who Cried Ninja is his first book for children. He lives in South Africa.
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Sandra Salsbury
I'm Sandra Salsbury, a children's book author and illustrator.
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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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Jarvis
Jarvis is an illustrator and animator who has worked as both a record jacket designer and an animation director. He lives in Manchester, England.
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Ani DiFranco
Ani DiFranco is a Grammy Award winning singer, guitarist, and songwriter. She is known as a prolific artist (having released nineteen albums) and is widely celebrated as a feminist icon.
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Molly Idle
Molly Idle has been drawing ever since she could wield a pencil. But while she started scribbling before she could walk, her professional career as an artist began slightly later…
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It was upon her graduation from Arizona State University, with a BFA in Drawing, that Molly accepted an offer to work for DreamWorks Feature Animation Studios. After five years, a number of film credits, and an incredibly good time, she left the studio and leapt with gusto into the world of children's book illustration!
Molly now lives in Arizona with her brilliant husband, two wonderfully mischievous sons, and two snugly cats. When not making mischief with her boys or watching old Technicolor musicals, she can be found at her desk scribbling away, with a pencil in -
Shawn Harris
Shawn Harris is an artist and musician who began his career by doing record and poster art for his band, the Matches, in 2003. Since then he has created art for musicians such as Adele, Snoop Dogg, and 311. His first picture book, Her Right Foot, was written by Dave Eggers. Shawn Harris lives in Morongo Valley, California.
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Jennifer Mook-Sang
Jennifer Mook-Sang was born in Guyana, South America, and moved to Canada at the age of fourteen. Since she can remember, she’s loved to read. Summers would find her curled up with humungous stacks of Enid Blytons and comic books. When she’d read those a trillion times over and knew them by heart, she’d start reading her textbooks for the coming year.
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Jennifer didn't consider writing until she began reading stories to her two boys. Those books were so much fun and clever, creating one seemed like the best thing anyone could do. She took writing classes and workshops and read lots about writing. She wrote bad stuff and not-so-bad stuff until she had written a whole book about a boy who really didn’t want to give a speech.
That book SPEECHLESS -
Erika Meza
I am a Mexican Migrant: colorful, bubbly, and a taco connoisseur. After studying graphic design back home (and moving house nearly 30 times) I lived in a dungeon with a princess in Paris to attend the Illustration (Image Imprimée) program at ENSAD, which got me addicted to chocolate éclairs and 2 am bike rides by the river.
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I now live with a cat in the UK where I work with ink, gouaches and watercolor pencils as an author and illustrator represented in my exploits by Claire Cartey. -
Julie Downing
Julie Downing is the illustrator of more than forty-five picture books and a professor of watercolor and children’s book illustration. She lives in California.
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Aaron Becker
Aaron Becker has worked as an artist for such film studios as Lucasfilm, Disney, and Pixar, where he helped define the look and feel of characters, stories, and the movies they become a part of. With Journey, he has created characters and worlds of his very own, using traditional materials and techniques. Aaron Becker lives in Amherst, Massachusetts, with his wife, daughter, and cat. This is his first book.
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"I’ve made several memorable journeys in my lifetime. I’ve lived in rural Japan and East Africa and backpacked through the South Pacific and Sweden. But to this day, my favorite destination remains my imagination, where you can often find me drawing secret doorways and magic lanterns." — Aaron Becker -
Mượn Thị Văn
Mượn Thị Văn loves to read books of all shapes and sizes. She first began reading yellow-spined hardbacks about a certain girl detective before graduating to longer novels and then picture books (it’s true, she doesn’t remember reading picture books as a young child). So few books reflected her formative experiences, though, that she desired to bring new and different stories into the world.
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From her New York Times acclaimed debut, In a Village by the Sea, illustrated by April Chu, Mượn's books have received many distinctions, including a Northern California Book Award, a Golden Kite Award, a New York Public Library Best Book, a Kirkus Reviews Best Book, a Junior Library Guild Selection, and an Irma Black Honor Award.
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Jessica Kensky
Jessica Kensky and Patrick Downes are a married couple who were both injured during the Boston Marathon bombing in 2013. Jessica’s service dog, Rescue, joined their family in 2014. Jessica Kensky and Patrick Downes live in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
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Bao Phi
Bao Phi is a Vietnamese-American spoken word artist,[1][2] writer and community activist living in Minnesota. Bao Phi's collection of poems, Sông I Sing, was published in 2011[3] and, Thousand Star Hotel, was published in 2017[4] by Coffee House Press. He has written three children’s books published by Capstone Press. First book, A Different Pond received multiple awards, including the Caldecott Award,[5] Charlotte Zolotow Award,[6] the Asian/Pacific American Awards for Literature for best picture book, the Minnesota Book Award for picture books.[7]
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Mina Javaherbin
Mina Javaherbin was born in Iran and immigrated to the United States, where she is now a practicing architect. She lives in Southern California.
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Dawn Bohulano Mabalon
Dawn Bohulano Mabalon (1972 – 2018) was an American academic who worked on documenting the history of Filipino Americans.
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Mabalon was the co-founder of The Little Manila Foundation, which worked to preserve Little Manila in Stockton, California. She also authored several books. -
Heather Ferranti Kinser
Heather Ferranti Kinser writes at the intersection of story, poetry, and nature from her home on the San Francisco Peninsula. She’s a former technical editor who now spends her days writing small stories—to make a big difference for kids! Connect with Heather at www.HeatherKinser.com.
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Roberta Flack
Roberta Cleopatra Flack was an American singer and pianist known for her emotive, genre-blending ballads that spanned R&B, jazz, folk, and pop and contributed to the birth of quiet storm. Her commercial success included the Billboard Hot 100 chart-topping singles "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face", "Killing Me Softly with His Song" and "Feel Like Makin' Love". She became the first artist to win the Grammy Award for Record of the Year in consecutive years.
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Flack frequently collaborated with Donny Hathaway, with whom she recorded several hit duets, including "Where Is the Love" and "The Closer I Get to You". As one of the defining voices of 1970s popular music, she remained active in the industry, later finding success with duets such as " -
Jane Bahk
Jane Park (formerly Bahk) won Lee & Low's New Voices Award for Juna's Jar, which was also recognized with the Asian/Pacific American Library Association Award for Literature and as a Notable Book for a Global Society by the International Literacy Association. Juna and Appa was inspired by her memories of growing up in her family's dry-cleaning shop. Park lives with her family in the San Francisco Bay Area.
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Philip Waechter
Philip Waechter (* 1968 in Frankfurt am Main) Is a German Illustrator and Author of Children's books:
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Waechter 1968 son of the artist and cartoonist K. F. Waechter born. At the Fachhochschule Mainz He studied Communication Design with a focus on illustration. Since 1995 he published illustrated children's books. Philip Waechter is a freelance graphic designer and illustrator in Frankfurt am Main since 1999 and worked with other illustrators in the studio community LABOR. -
Jane Mount
Jane Mount is an illustrator/designer/writer/thingmaker, and particularly makes things for people who love books. She is the founder of Ideal Bookshelf, and the author and illustrator of Bibliophile: An Illustrated Miscellany (Chronicle Books, 2018), and the illustrator and co-author (with Jamise Harper) of Bibliophile: Diverse Spines (Chronicle Books, 2021) and My Ideal Bookshelf (Little, Brown, 2012). She lives in a log cabin on Maui with her husband, three weird cats, and a speckled dog.
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Kevin Johnson
Kevin is author of the critically-acclaimed, CAPE (Roaring Brook Press, 2023), SLAYER BOWL (Sack of Lit, 2025), WHO HQ: LOUIS ARMSTRONG - WHO MADE MUSIC ON THE MISSISSIPPI? (Penguin, 2026), and HOWIE HACKIT (First Second, 2027).
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Kevin has been featured in the New York Times, NPR, and Oprah Daily.
Kevin has a Bachelors in Film from Temple University. He loves music, movies, retro gaming, and reading. While he enjoys traveling and finding new inspiration for his tales, Kevin will always consider his birthplace, Philly, home. -
Chris Barton
I'm the author of picture books including WE MATCH! (2025), bestseller SHARK VS. TRAIN, Sibert Honor-winning THE DAY-GLO BROTHERS, and WHOOSH! LONNIE JOHNSON'S SUPER-SOAKING STREAM OF INVENTIONS, which has been celebrated on 21 state reading lists.
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Other well-known titles of mine include 88 INSTRUMENTS, HOW TO MAKE A BOOK (ABOUT MY DOG), FIRE TRUCK VS. DRAGON, DAZZLE SHIPS, THE AMAZING AGE OF JOHN ROY LYNCH, and WHAT DO YOU DO WITH A VOICE LIKE THAT?
My newest books include GLITTER EVERYWHERE! WHERE IT CAME FROM, WHERE IT'S FOUND & WHERE IT'S GOING (one of National Public Radio's "Books We Love" for 2023) and MOVING FORWARD: FROM SPACE-AGE RIDES TO CIVIL RIGHTS SIT-INS WITH AIRMAN ALTON YATES (a School Library Journal Best Book of 2022).
I vis -
Verna Aardema
A prolific American children's author and teacher, Verna Norberg Aardema Vugteveen - more commonly known as Verna Aardema - was born in 1911 in New Era, Michigan. She was educated at Michigan State University, and taught grade school from 1934-1973. She also worked as a journalist for the Muskegon Chronicle from 1951-1972. In 1960 she published her first book, the collection of stories, Tales from the Story Hat. She went on to write over thirty more books, most of them folkloric retellings. Her picture-book, Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People's Ears, won co-illustrators Leo and Diane Dillon a Caldecott Medal. Aardema was married twice, and died in 2000 in Fort Myers, Florida. (source: Wikipedia)
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Evan Turk
Evan Turk is an award-winning illustrator, author and animator living in Riverside, California, with his husband, Chris, and two cats, Pica and Bert. A graduate of Parsons: The New School for Design, his illustration and animation have been shown all over the world. He grew up in Colorado and loves nature and being outdoors. He continues his studies with Dalvero Academy, a private illustration school in New York City. Evan loves to travel all over the world and learn about other people and places through drawing and the interactions that come from it.
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Evan speaks to kids and adults across the country and loves talking with them about storytelling and making art. -
Janice N. Harrington
Harrington’s writing reflects her beginnings in rural Alabama and her life in the Midwest. A former librarian and professional storyteller, Harrington now teaches creative writing in the Department of English at the University of Illinois.
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-from janiceharrington.com -
Chloe Savage
Chloe Savage received a BA in TV and film set design from Cardiff University in Wales and an MA in children’s book illustration from the Cambridge School of Art in England. She has worked in opera, film, and television, but says she discovered her passion for illustration and storytelling while doodling on call sheets. The Search for the Giant Arctic Jellyfish is her first book. A great lover of food and the seaside, Chloe Savage lives in England.
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Tracey E. Fern
When I started my own family, I began to write stories for children’s magazines. One day, I found myself driving to the library to help my daughter search for her own missing Nancy Drews. I suddenly remembered that long ago day when I told my father that, yes, of course I could write a book. I decided to try. I haven’t stopped since.
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I now live in Newton, Massachusetts with my husband Doug, my two daughters, Samantha and Alexandra, my enormous pumpkin-colored dog, Ozzie, and my lucky black cat, Cyrus. I live only a short drive from the gentle beach I loved when I was a girl. I still love walking on that deserted stretch of land and dreaming. Now I mostly dream about the books I plan to write.
from http://www.traceyfern.com/author.html