Nancy Van Laan

Nancy Van Laan was born in Baton Rouge, La. Her father was a colonel in the US Air Force, and the family moved frequently as Van Laan was growing up. She began making up stories to pass the time on long car trips. Although Van Laan had a learning disability, she loved to read. She began drawing and writing poetry as a child and enjoyed illustrating her own stories. Van Laan also loved ballet and began taking lessons at the age of nine. By age seventeen, she had her own ballet company in Birmingham that performed on a weekly program broadcast on Alabama Educational TV (now Alabama Public Television). Van Laan’s dancing career ended after an injury she sustained as a student at Sullins College in Bristol, Va. After completing her AA degree at

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Bethany Roberts

I've wanted to be a children's book author as far back as I can remember. When I was eight years old I wrote a story about a rabbit. I am still writing stories about rabbits- and mice, cats, children, monsters, and dragons!

When I was growing up, I was the neighborhood storyteller. I would make up stories on the spot for younger children in the neighborhood. I read a lot of books. But I was also a bit of a tomboy. I spent much of my time outdoors, usually barefoot, climbing trees and stone-hopping across brooks.

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Eric Carle

Eric Carle was an American author, designer and illustrator of children's books. His picture book The Very Hungry Caterpillar, first published in 1969, has been translated into more than 66 languages and sold more than 50 million copies. Carle's career as an illustrator and children's book author accelerated after he collaborated on Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?. Carle illustrated more than 70 books, most of which he also wrote, and more than 145 million copies of his books have been sold around the world.
In 2003, the American Library Association awarded Carle the biennial Laura Ingalls Wilder Medal (now called the Children's Literature Legacy Award), a prize for writers or illustrators of children's books published in the U.S. w
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Scott O'Dell

Scott O'Dell was an American author celebrated for his historical fiction, especially novels for young readers. He is best known for Island of the Blue Dolphins, a classic that earned the Newbery Medal and has been translated into many languages and adapted for film. Over his career he wrote more than two dozen novels for young people, as well as works of nonfiction and adult fiction, often drawing on the history and landscapes of California and Mexico. His books, including The King’s Fifth, The Black Pearl, and Sing Down the Moon, earned him multiple Newbery Honors and a wide readership. O'Dell received numerous awards for his contribution to children’s literature, among them the Hans Christian Andersen Award and the Regina Medal. In 1984,
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Jane Yolen

Jane Yolen is a novelist, poet, fantasist, journalist, songwriter, storyteller, folklorist, and children’s book author who has written more than three hundred books. Her accolades include the Caldecott Medal, two Nebula Awards, the World Fantasy Award, three Mythopoeic Awards, the Kerlan Award, two Christopher Awards, and six honorary doctorate degrees from colleges and universities in Massachusetts and New Hampshire. Born and raised in New York City, the mother of three and the grandmother of six, Yolen lives in Massachusetts and St. Andrews, Scotland.
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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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Beatrix Potter

Helen Beatrix Potter was an English author, illustrator, mycologist, and conservationist who is best known for her children's books, which featured animal characters such as Peter Rabbit.

Born into a wealthy household, Potter was educated by governesses and grew up isolated from other children. She had numerous pets, and through holidays in Scotland and the Lake District, developed a love of landscape, flora, and fauna, all of which she closely observed and painted. Because she was a woman, her parents discouraged intellectual development, but her study and paintings of fungi led her to be widely respected in the field of mycology.

In her thirties, Potter published the highly successful children's book The Tale of Peter Rabbit and became secr
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Bethany Roberts

I've wanted to be a children's book author as far back as I can remember. When I was eight years old I wrote a story about a rabbit. I am still writing stories about rabbits- and mice, cats, children, monsters, and dragons!

When I was growing up, I was the neighborhood storyteller. I would make up stories on the spot for younger children in the neighborhood. I read a lot of books. But I was also a bit of a tomboy. I spent much of my time outdoors, usually barefoot, climbing trees and stone-hopping across brooks.

On my way to becoming a children's book author, I was also a teacher and a children's librarian. I always liked story hours best. When my own children, Krista and Melissa, were small, I read to them constantly- stacks and stacks of b
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Eve Bunting

Also known as Evelyn Bolton and A.E. Bunting.

Anne Evelyn Bunting, better known as Eve Bunting, is an author with more than 250 books. Her books are diverse in age groups, from picture books to chapter books, and topic, ranging from Thanksgiving to riots in Los Angeles. Eve Bunting has won several awards for her works.

Bunting went to school in Ireland and grew up with storytelling. In Ireland, “There used to be Shanachies… the shanachie was a storyteller who went from house to house telling his tales of ghosts and fairies, of old Irish heroes and battles still to be won. Maybe I’m a bit of a Shanchie myself, telling stories to anyone who will listen.” This storytelling began as an inspiration for Bunting and continues with her work.

In 1958,
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Barbara Bottner

Barbara Bottner, New York Times best-selling author, is a screenwriter, TV writer, and writing coach, who began her multi-hyphenate career as an artist and actor. Designing off-Broadway sets in the ’60s led her to performance and following her career in theatre, she began writing and illustrating books for children. In total, she has written over 40 books in all areas of children’s literature including Young Adult, Middle Grade, chapter, and "I Can Reads". Several of her award-winning picture books have been animated and translated into multiple languages.
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Jon Stone

Stone graduated from Williams College in 1952. He received a master's degree from the Yale University School of Drama in 1955, at which time he joined a CBS training program. Before helping to create Sesame Street, he worked on the popular children's television show Captain Kangaroo for CBS. He also worked on several other Muppet projects before and during his time on Sesame Street, and was the author of several books including the popular "The Monster at the End of this Book". He was married for 9 years to actress Beverly Owen.

Stone was Sesame Street's principal director until 1996. Working with Jim Henson, he helped to create many of the Muppet characters, including Big Bird and Cookie Monster. He was also responsible for the show's forma
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Mark Teague

Mark Teague has delighted young readers with more than 20 picture books, and he has written many of them himself, including the popular Pigsty, Baby Tamer, and One Halloween Night. He is also the illustrator of Cynthia Rylant's beloved Poppleton series for beginning readers and the best-selling books by Jane Yolen, How Do Dinosaurs Say Goodnight and How Do Dinosaurs Get Well Soon.

Mark Teague's life changed when he moved from San Diego to New York City and he planted the seed for his first picture book, The Trouble with the Johnsons. Each of Teague's books start as "notebooks full of sketches and scribbles, strange little drawings and phrases that suddenly come together," Teague explains. And although he had no formal writing training, his e
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Dr. Seuss

Also wrote as Theodore Seuss Geisel, see https://www.goodreads.com/author/show...

Theodor Seuss Geisel was born 2 March 1904 in Springfield, Massachusetts. He graduated Dartmouth College in 1925, and proceeded on to Oxford University with the intent of acquiring a doctorate in literature. At Oxford he met Helen Palmer, who he wed in 1927. He returned from Europe in 1927, and began working for a magazine called Judge, the leading humor magazine in America at the time, submitting both cartoons and humorous articles for them. Additionally, he was submitting cartoons to Life, Vanity Fair and Liberty. In some of his works, he'd made reference to an insecticide called Flit. These references gained notice, and led to a contract to draw comic ads fo
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Laura Joffe Numeroff

Laura Joffe Numeroff is the NYT best-selling author of If You Give a Mouse a Cookie, What Mommies/Daddies Do Best and Raising a Hero. She was born in Brooklyn, New York and graduated from Pratt Institute. Laura grew up as the youngest of three girls, surrounded by art, music, and books. An avid animal lover, Laura has always wanted to write a book about service dogs. She now lives in Los Angeles, California.
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Oliver Jeffers

Oliver Jeffers' work takes many forms. His distinctive paintings have been exhibited in galleries worldwide, and HarperCollins UK and Penguin USA publish his award-winning picture books, now translated into over 30 languages.

In 2007, Jeffers was the official illustrator for World Book Day, and in 2008 Lost and Found became Oliver's first book to made into animation by London-based Studio AKA.

Jeffers won a NY Emmy in 2010 for his collaborative work with the artist and director Mac Premo, and in 2013 Jeffers co-directed the video for U2's Ordinary Love with Premo. Originally from Belfast, Northern Ireland, Jeffers now lives and works in Brooklyn, New York.

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Peter H. Reynolds

Peter Hamilton Reynolds is an author and illustrator of children's books and is the co-Founder and CEO of educational media company FableVision.
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Rob Scotton

Rob Scotton is the bestselling author and illustrator of "Russell the Sheep," and "Russell and the Lost Treasure." His latest book, "Splat the Cat" is the story of a young cat facing all the wonders and worries of his first day at cat school. Rob's work can also be found on greeting cards, ceramics, textiles, prints, stationery, and glassware. An honors graduate of Leicester Polytechnic, Rob now lives in Rutland, England, with his wife, Liz, who is also an artist.
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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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Sarah Mackenzie

Sarah Mackenzie is a homeschooling mother of six and the author Teaching from Rest and The Read-Aloud Family, as well as several picture books for kids.

She's the host of the Read-Aloud Revival podcast, which has been downloaded over 14 million times in more than 160 countries.

Her boutique, award-winning publishing house, Waxwing Books, makes timeless stories families will love to read aloud.

Sarah makes her home in the Northwest with Andrew, her husband of 23 years, and their 6 kids. You can usually find her reading stacks of picture books, mixing up a batch of sourdough, or loving on her doodles, Tomie dePawla and Gilbert Blythe.
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Chris Kyle

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

Chris Kyle is a former United States Navy SEAL, who with 255 kills, 160 of them officially confirmed by the Pentagon, is the deadliest marksman in United States military history.Kyle served four tours in the second Iraq War. He was awarded the Bronze Star with Combat V device four times and the Silver Star. He served on active duty from 1999 to 2009.

Chris and a friend were killed on February 2, 2013, at the Rough Creek Lodge shooting range in Erath County, Texas.
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Molly Beth Griffin

From Molly Beth Griffin's Website: "I am a graduate of Hamline University's MFA program in Writing for Children and Young Adults, and a writing teacher at the Loft Literary Center in the Twin Cities. ... Though my writing reaches across all age groups and genres, it all demonstrates my passion for exploring young people's changing relationship to the natural world."
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Liz Garton Scanlon

Liz Garton Scanlon is the author of numerous beloved books for young people, including the highly-acclaimed, Caldecott-honored picture book All the World, illustrated by Marla Frazee, two novels for middle grade readers, and an upcoming chapter book series. Her many other picture books include the ones she's co-authored with Audrey Vernick, like Bob, Not Bob and World's Best Class Plant. Ms. Scanlon is also a poet, a teacher and a frequent & popular presenter at schools, libraries and conferences. She serves on the faculty of the Vermont College of Fine Arts and lives in Austin, Texas.
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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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Jessie Oliveros

Jessie grew up watching Kansas sunsets, and she’ll always have wild sunflowers and gold-tipped cornfields in her heart. She spent her college-life climbing mountains in Utah and striving for higher vistas. After a fulfilling career as a registered nurse, Jessie hung up her stethoscope to grow children and stories. She loves root beer floats, autumn, and running in the rain. These days you can find her in the Texas hill country with her husband and their five kids.
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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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Jack Wong

Jack Wong (黃雋喬) is the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award-winning author/illustrator of When You Can Swim (Scholastic), as well as the forthcoming picture books The Words We Share (Annick Press, Fall 2023), and All That Grows (Groundwood Books, Spring 2024).

Wong was born in Hong Kong and raised in Vancouver. In 2010, he left behind a life as a bridge engineer to pursue his Bachelor of Fine Arts at NSCAD University (Kjipuktuk / Halifax, Canada), where he now lives with his wife and two cats and works as a children’s author/illustrator.

A self-declared actual Jack-of-all-trades, he has also tried his hand at bookkeeping, teaching art, managing a psychology research lab, and running his own bicycle repair shop, just to name a few—a real education for
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