Edith Baer
Edith Baer came to the United States in her teens. She earned a BA in English Literature and a Masters degree in Library Service from Rutgers University. She has taught college workshops on "Writing for Young Readers" for many years. When visiting schools to read from her books, she enjoys the lively participation of her audience, especially of the children. She has published a number of picture books, including the multicultural book, This is the Way We Go to School, This is the Way We Eat our Lunch, and The Wonder of Hands. Her award-winning YA novel, A Frost in the Night, and its sequel, Walk the Dark Streets, are set in the Germany of her youth. Edith Baer and her husband live in northern New Jersey. They are the parents of a son and daughter and have two grandchildren.

Lorna Balian
Lorna Balian was born and raised in Wisconsin. She studied art at the Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design, where she met her husband, John. Together, they renovated an old brick schoolhouse where they raised six children. Lorna's children’s book career began when she decided to write and illustrate stories for her young children. She published her first book, Humbug Witch in 1965. Her long and celebrated career of creating books continues to be inspired by her fourteen grandchildren. Lorna still lives in Wisconsin with her husband.

Angela Bednarczyk & Janet Weinstock
Angela Bednarczyk and Janet Weinstock are both teachers at one of the leading schools for the deaf. Happy Birthday! and Opposites are among the many books on signing that they have written.  

Dr. Vanita Braver
Dr. Vanita Braver is a renowned child psychiatrist, a best-selling author, and a keynote speaker at national conferences. She is also a frequent lecturer at hospitals, schools, libraries, and community centers.
Dr. Braver wrote the Teach Your Children Well series to help teach children values and virtues. These books aim to help parents and educators enhance children’s emotional well-being. Dr. Vanita Braver’s website: http://www.drvanitabraver.com

Rochelle Bunnett
ochelle Bunnett has been a teacher and advocate for young children with different abilities for over twenty years. She often holds workshops for parents and teachers. She lives in Bellingham, Washington, with her husband, Rob, and daughter, Annie.

Giora Carmi
Giora Carmi spent fourteen years as a freelance graphic designer in Israel. During that time, Giora illustrated over two hundred book covers and fifteen children’s books. He came to the United States in 1985 and established himself as an illustrator for The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal. In the U.S. he continued to pursue his interest in children's books, illustrating twenty-eight books, two of which he also wrote.

In 2004, Carmi received a degree from NYU in art therapy. He now works as an art therapist with troubled teens in Bergen County, NJ. He has two daughters, a son and one grandson from a previous marriage. He lives with his life partner, Anita Gold, in New York City
Giora Carmi’s website: http://www.portfolios.com/GioraCarmi

Cheryl Christian
Cheryl Christian is the author of over fifty innovative children’s books, many of which have been best sellers. She is the creator of the Photoflap® series and many other interactive children’s books. Cheryl lives in New York City

Miriam Cohen
Miriam Cohen is an avid champion of the emotional rights of children, and is interested in their “immense vulnerability, and their need to be nurtured, encouraged, and allowed to unfold naturally.” She has spent many hours in classrooms reading, listening, and talking with children "not as a lecturer, but as a fellow writer." The time she has spent in the company of children is one reason why her books ring true, and why young readers hear themselves in the voices of her characters.

Miriam and her husband live in Brooklyn, New York. They have three children. Their son Adam, an award-winning photographer, collaborated with Miriam onEddy’s Dream.

Barbara H. Cole
Barbara Cole grew up in Red Hill, North Carolina. She teaches English and Humanities at Sand Hills Community College and enjoys traveling, gardening, and photography.

MichEle Coxon
Michèle Coxon is a renowned illustrator and animal artist, and her books have sold over one million copies world-wide. She currently lives in Wales with eight cats, one dog, and two teenage sons

Kirsten DeBear
Kirsten DeBear is an occupational therapist and early childhood specialist who works with young children with developmental challenges. Kirsten teaches at Bank Street College and serves as a mentor. She also has a private practice in New York City.

Laura Dwight
Laura Dwight’s interest in photographing children with special needs came from seeing poor, unflattering images of infants and toddlers with Down syndrome in her psychology textbooks. Her first board books for young children were for the Photoflap® series published by Star Bright Books. Her first full length photographic book, We Can Do It!, portrays five children with special needs, and her book Brothers and Sisters features five sibling groups playing and solving problems in everyday situations. It allows children to satisfy their curiosity about disabilities while realizing that all children are essentially the same. Laura Dwight’s website: http://www.lauradwightphoto.com

Jackie French
Jackie French's writing career spans seventeen years, forty-eight wombats, 132 books, twenty-three languages, 3,721 bush rats, over fifty awards in Australia and overseas, including CBC "Book of the Year" forHitler's Daughter.

Jackie is ACT (Australian Capital Territory) Children's Ambassador, and patron of Club Cool, an ACT library program to encourage kids to read. She is also a director of The Wombat Foundation, an organization that raises funds for research into the preservation of the endangered northern hairy nosed wombat. Jackie lives in Australia with her husband, Bryan. Jackie French’s website: www.jackiefrench.com

Phillis Gershator
Phillis Gershator was born in New York City and raised in the California San Fernando Valley. She was an avid reader from the start, enjoying the Oz, Freddy the Pig, and Beverly Cleary books, and she still loves reading children's literature. She graduated from Pratt Institute with a Masters in Library Science. She has worked as a children's librarian with the Brooklyn Public Library and the St. Thomas school system in the U.S. Virgin Islands. She published her first children's book in 1979, and re-established her commitment to writing for children after experiencing the devastation of Hurricane Hugo in 1989. She and her husband, David, have two grown children and still live in St. Thomas.

Valeri Gorbachev
Before moving to the United States in 1992, Valeri Gorbachev was one of the most popular illustrators in Russia. He has dozens of children's books to his credit in Russia, as well as in America. He currently lives in Brooklyn, New York.

Janet Halfmann
Janet Halfmann is the award-winning author of more than thirty fiction and non-fiction books. The inspiration for Good Night, Little Sea Otter came while writing an article about a kelp forest. Janet lives in Wisconson.

Ronald Himler
Ronald Himler began his career as a children's book artist in 1972, and has illustrated over 160 books and several hundred book covers. He has received more than thirty-five awards, nominations, and citations of excellence including a Silver Medal from the Society of Illustrators and a Christopher Award. Several of his books have been Reading Rainbow Selections. In addition to illustrating children's books, Ron also makes oil paintings of Plains Indian culture that are exhibited in galleries throughout the country. Ron lives in the desert outside of Tucson, AZ. Ronald Himler’s website: http://www.ronhimler.com

Peter Huggins
Peter Huggins is the author of three books of poems, Necessary Acts, Blue Angels, and Hard Facts. He has published over 250 of his poems in more than 100 journals and magazines. He is also the author of a novel for middle readers, In the Company of Owls. Trosclair and the Alligator is his first picture book. He teaches in the English Department at Auburn University and lives in Auburn, Alabama, with his wife, two children, and a silver tabby named Peabody

Francesca Greco
Francesca Greco was born in Foligno, Italy. She learned to draw from her grandmother, whose pictures were full of fantasy. When she was fifteen, her rendering of Alice in Wonderland with the Caterpillar won first prize at the 5th World Biennial for Children's Art. She studied art history at the University of Perugia, and started publishing children's illustration in 1998.

Francesca lives in a big house with her parents, a large black dog named Blu, and a cat named Micia who stays as far away from Blu as possible. Her passion is ballet, which she has been studying since she was four years old. Francesca Grecco’s website: http://www.francescagreco.it  

Bonnie Grubman
Bonnie Grubman is an early childhood educator and author. Grubman and her husband live in Long Island, New York. They have two children and a dog named Rusty.

Isabel Hill
Isabel Hill is a photographer, architectural historian, urban planner and award-winning documentary filmmaker. Her production company, Building History Productions, specializes in reports, photographs, and documentary films on architecture and urban issues. Isabel Hill lives and works in Brooklyn, NY. Isabel Hill’s website: www.isabelhill.com

Jill Lauren
Jill Lauren has been teaching amazing kids and adults for over 25 years. Known as an expert in the area of reading and writing, Jill has trained teachers around the country, and has also worked with schools to implement successful reading programs. As a result of her book, Succeeding with LD, she speaks to children and adults about the important lessons learned from success stories. Jill currently conducts a private practice for learning disabled students in New York City. She also enjoys meeting people who have found a way to feel proud and happy in spite of their struggles in school. Jill Lauren’s website: www.jilllauren.com

Fran Manushkin
Fran Manushkin's Baby, Come Out! has been translated into eight languages and has won the Dutch Silver Pencil Award. Fran is the author of many popular picture books and is a former book editor. She lives in New York City. Fran Manushkin’s website: http://www.franmanushkin.com/

Beth Mathers
Beth Mathers has a degree in Education from Southern Illinois University. She has been working with children and young adults for over thirty-five years. Beth has taught special education and first grade, and even ran her own preschool for 14 years. She helped to create programs for the Education Department at the Children's Museum of Indianapolis and taught classes there. Beth co-founded a publishing company, the Jenny Wren Press, which she ran for nine years.

Speaking of Me... is based on Beth's "Life Lessons Program," which is in its sixth year. The program has touched the lives of hundreds of students throughout Brown County. Beth is the recipient of the 2007 Brown County Arts Leadership Award. Beth Mathers’ website: http://www.BethMathers.com

Judi Moreillon
Judi Moreillon earned a Master's degree from the School of Information Resources and Library Science, University of Arizona, in 1992. She then went on to earn a Ph.D. from the Department of Language, Reading and Culture at University of Arizona; her research focus was media and literacy.

Judi serves as an assistant professor in the School of Library and Information Studies at Texas Woman's University in Denton. She has taught early literacy, writing, adolescent and children's literature, electronic and information literacy, and storytelling at the university level.

For twelve years, Judi collaborated as a teacher-librarian with classroom teachers and students in Tucson-area high schools and K-5 school libraries⎯to integrate literature and information literacy skills into the curriculum. Literature and libraries are her passions. Judi Moreillon’s website http://storytrail.com

Patricia McFadden
Patricia McFadden is an award-winning author with an MFA in Writing for Children from Spalding University. She has sold stories to Children's Digest,Turtle Magazine, Highlights for Children andThe Education Center. Patricia teaches kindergarten and lives in Boulder, Colorado. Patricia McFadden's website: http://www.grianmcfadden.com/

Narelle Oliver
Narelle Oliver is an Australian author-illustrator of a number of award-winning children’s picture books including The Best Beak in Boonaroo Bay, Mermaids Most Amazing, Sand Swimmers and Home. Many of her titles have been published internationally.

While studying for a BA in Education, Narelle majored in design and printmaking and discovered the world of contemporary children’s picture books. For several years she taught at the Queensland School for the Deaf, living and breathing picture books and sign language. In 1989 she published her first book Leaf Tail.

The linocut print medium, used in different combinations with paint, pencil and collage is a special feature of her illustrations. In particular, Narelle uses linocut to capture the patterns and textures of animals and their surroundings.

Currently, Narelle lives in Brisbane, Australia, with her family. Narelle Oliver’s website: www.narelleoliver.com

Hui-Mei Pan 
Hui-Mei Pan was raised in rural Taiwan, and her culture has greatly influenced her stories and illustration. Pan is a graduate of the Savannah College of Art and Design. In 1997 she was recognized with the highest honor for illustration at the Fifth Annual Children's Literature Awards of Chen Gwo-Jeng, in Taiwan.  

Hannah Rainforth
Hannah Rainforth is a writer and Maori translator who lives in New Zealand.

Kathleen Rizzi
Kathleen Rizzi is a 35-year vetaran children's book editor, and author of more than 25 children's books including retellings of world famous illustrated classics.

Linda Stanek
Linda Stanek graduated from Ohio State University with a degree in Early and Middle Childhood Education. She has been published in national magazines and e-zines, and have written nonfiction children's materials for non-profit organzations. Linda frequently visits schools and lives in Ohio. Linda Stanek's website: www.lindakstanek.com

John Stadler
John Stadler is the author and illustrator of many popular books for children, including three Reading Rainbow titles and two Children’s Choices selections. His work has been featured on television, as well as in museums and galleries. He lives in New Hampshire. John Stadler’s website: http://johnstadler.com/

Kyra Teis
Kyra Teis learned her distinctive paper-collage technique from her father, Dan Teis, an esteemed contemporary artist and academic. She is the recipient of a Society of Children's Book Writers & Illustrators Magazine Merit Award (1997). Kyra draws inspiration from her extensive travels, her husband and young daughter. She enjoys designing creative workshops for school visits and speaking to students about making stories and images of their own. Kyra lives near Albany, New York. Kyra Teis’ website: www.kyrateis.com

Stephen Shames
Stephen Shames is a photojournalist and art photographer who creates award-winning photo essays on social issues for foundations, advocacy organizations, the media, and museums. Steve’s images are in many permanent collections, including the National Portrait Gallery and the International Center of Photography. Steve started L.E.A.D Uganda (www.leaduganda.org) to help AIDS orphans, former child soldiers, and children living in refugee camps become the future leaders of Africa. Stephen Shames’ website: www.stephenshames.com

Meg Starr
Meg Starr has helped build community programs in East Harlem as a professor and Director at the Touro College School of Education, and as a day care teacher and director in a daycare center. She has first-hand experience working with children in a variety of communities.

Ellen Tarlow
Ellen Tarlow is a writer and editor specializing in children's literature projects.
She currently works for a major text book publisher developing reading programs for young children. She lives in Brooklyn.

Rose Treat
Rose Treat has been working with seaweed and holding workshops for adults and children for over thirty-five years. Examples of her mountings and collages are included in the collections of the Smithsonian, Wood's Hole Oceanographic Institute, and Harvard University. Treat lives in Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts.

Richard Watson
Richard Watson is the author of three novels: Under Plowman's Floor, The Runner, and Niagara. He co-wrote the classic American caving adventure book, The Longest Cave, which has been in print since 1976. Watson’s biography of Descartes, Cogito Ergo Sum, was chosen by the New York Public Library as one of "25 Books to Remember from 2002." He is an Honorary Life Member of the National Speleological Society, and has been exploring caves for more than fifty years.

Anne Weston
Anne Weston lives in a remote corner of Costa Rica where she and her husband, Patrick, have established a rainforest preserve. She enjoys hiking and taking care of her pet chickens, turkeys, and geese. She also writes mysteries set in the rainforest, many of which have appeared in Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine. "I like to weave bits of folklore into my mystery stories," Anne says.

Anne Weston’s rainforest preserve is available for use by universities and school groups. For more information, visit www.playadelfin.com

Brian Wildsmith
Brian Wildsmith was raised in a small mining village in Yorkshire, where, he says, "Everything was gray. There wasn't any color. It was all up to my imagination. I had to draw in my head..."

Since those early days, Wildsmith has created more than 200 picture books, which have been translated into more than twenty languages. In 1962 he was awarded the Kate Greenaway Medal, Britain's highest honor for a distinguished picture book. Wildsmith is deservedly known as one of the greatest living children's book illustrators.

The Brian Wildsmith Museum, which showcases his illustration work, was founded in Japan in 1994. Brian Wildsmith's website: http://www.brianwildsmith.com

Dorit Bader Whiteman
Dr. Dorit Whiteman was born in Vienna, Austria, to a Jewish family that narrowly escaped Nazi persecution. From 1938 to 1941, her family lived in London, and they moved to New York in 1941. Dorit earned a B.A. from the University of Georgia and a PhD in clinical psychology from New York University. She met her future husband, Dr. Martin Whiteman, at NYU. Dr. Whiteman lives in New York with her husband. They have two children and two grandchildren. She has a private practice and conducts lectures on the Holocaust. She is the author of The Uprooted: A Hitler Legacy, which tells the stories of Jews who escaped the "Final Solution." Dorit Whiteman’s website: http://doritwhiteman.com