Bio Joy Harjo Joy Harjo was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma and is a member of the Mvskoke Nation. She has released four award-winning CD's of original music and won a Native American Music Award (NAMMY) for B…
Yolande Cornelia "Nikki" Giovanni Jr. was an American poet, writer, commentator, activist, and educator. One of the world's most well-known African-American poets, her work includes poetry anthologies…
Carole Boston Weatherford is a children's book author and poet who mines the past for family stories, traditions, and struggles. A number of CAROLE's books tell the stories of African-American histori…
Marla Frazee was awarded a Caldecott Honor for All the World and A Couple of Boys Have the Best Week Ever and the Boston Globe Horn Book Award for Picture Book for The Farmer and the Clown. She is the…
Christopher Denise spent much of his childhood in Shannon, Ireland, exploring castles and dreaming of great adventures. He is the illustrator of many critically acclaimed books for young readers, incl…
Mara Rockliff is the author of many well-loved books for children. Her newest picture book is All at Once Upon a Time, about which Booklist warns, "Be prepared for this amusing storytime selection to …
Chana Stiefel is the author of more than 30 books for children, both fiction and nonfiction. Her recent picture book, THE TOWER OF LIFE: How Yaffa Eliach Rebuilt Her Town in Stories and Photographs (i…
Kwame Alexander is a poet, educator, and New York Times Bestselling author of 21 books, including The Crossover, which received the 2015 John Newbery Medal for the Most Distinguished Contribution to A…
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 (Wal…
Jason Reynolds is an American author of novels and poetry for young adult and middle-grade audience. After earning a BA in English from The University of Maryland, College Park, Jason Reynolds moved t…
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 Angel…
Emma Straub is the New York Times‒bestselling author of the novels All Adults Here, Modern Lovers, The Vacationers, Laura Lamont's Life in Pictures, and the short story collection Other People We Marr…
Matthew Cordell is the acclaimed author and illustrator of the 2018 Caldecott winner Wolf in the Snow. He is also the author and illustrator of Trouble Gum and the illustrator of If the S in Moose Com…
Darren Farrell is an award-winning author and illustrator. His “sophisticated urban style” has been praised by the New York Times, called “insanely detailed” and “a modern-day toddler classic” by NPR,…
Mirelle Ortega is a Mexican illustrator for kidlit and animation based in Los Angeles, California. She’s best known for winning the Animation! Prize at Ideatoon in 2019 with her pitch for THE HUMAN AD…
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 Illust…
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 …
Amanda Gorman was the first Youth Poet Laureate of the United States. She is also an activist. Gorman's work focuses on issues of oppression, feminism, race, and marginalization, as well as the Africa…
Yamile (sha-MEE-lay) is a fútbol obsessed Argentine-American. She’s the mother of 5 kids and 2 adorable dogs. Yamile’s an inaugural Walter Dean Meyers Grant recipient, a graduate of Voices of our Nati…
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 w…
Stephen Briseño is a middle school English teacher in San Antonio, Texas. Growing up, his grandfather, a Mexican immigrant, wove stories of life in Mexico and Texas and talked about the challenges imm…
