Kate DiCamillo, the newly named National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature for 2014–2015, says about stories, “When we read together, we connect. Together, we see the world. Together, we see on…
Patricia C. McKissack was the Newbery Honor, Coretta Scott King Award-winning author of The Dark-Thirty and Porch Lies an ALA Notable Book. She collaborated with Jerry Pinkney on Goin' Someplace Speci…
Melissa Iwai is an award winning author and illustrator of children’s books. Her most recent books are: Gigi and Ojiji (Harper Collins 2022), a Geisel Honor book, Gigi and Ojiji: What's in a Name? (Ha…
Deborah Diesen is the author of The Pout-Pout Fish, a rhyming children's picture book illustrated by Dan Hanna and published by Farrar Straus Giroux. Her book The Barefooted, Bad-Tempered Baby Brigade…
Freya Blackwood is an Australian illustrator and special effects artist. She worked on special effects for The Lord of the Rings film trilogy from 2001 to 2003 and won the Kate Greenaway Medal for Bri…
Veera Hiranandani is the author of THE NIGHT DIARY, THE WHOLE STORY OF HALF A GIRL, and the chapter book series, PHOEBE G. GREEN. She has an MFA in fiction writing from Sarah Lawrence College and spen…
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 Awa…
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 …
Isabel Quintero is a writer, poet, teacher, wife, friend, sister, daughter, granddaughter, aunt niece, and a bunch of other things. She lives in the Inland Empire, where she was born and raised by Mex…
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 da…
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.
Minh Lê is the author of Drawn Together illustrated by Caldecott Medalist Dan Santat and Let Me Finish! (named an NPR Best Book of 2016) illustrated by Isabel Roxas (both published by Disney-Hyperion)…
Taraji Henson is an American film and television actress. She is best known as Cookie Lyon on the Fox drama series Empire for which she won a Critics' Choice Award, a Golden Globe Award and was nomina…
Nikkolas Smith is an Artivist, Concept Artist, Children's Books Author, Film Illustrator, and Movie Poster Designer. He is also a Master of Architecture recipient from Hampton University. After designi…
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…
Meera Sriram draws from her life straddling the East and West to tell stories. She is an award-winning author of several picture books including A GIFT FOR AMMA, DUMPLING DAY, A GARDEN IN MY HANDS, an…
Jacqueline Alcántara is a freelance illustrator and educator spending her days drawing, writing, walking her dogs and planning her next adventures. She is fueled by dance music, carbs and coffee. Jacq…
Hello! I’m X. Fang. I am a visual artist and maker of books for young readers. I was born in Taiwan, raised in Atlanta, Georgia, bounced around Brooklyn and Philly before settling down in Midcoast Mai…
