Jerdine Nolen is the beloved author of many award-winning books, including Big Jabe; Thunder Rose, a Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honor Book; and Hewitt Anderson’s Great Big Life, a Bank Street Best Book of the Year, all illustrated by Kadir Nelson. She is also the author of Eliza’s Freedom Road, illustrated by Shadra Strickland, which was an ALA/YALSA Best Fiction Nominee for Young Adults; Raising Dragons, illustrated by Elise Primavera, which received the Christopher Award; and Harvey Potter’s Balloon Farm, illustrated by Mark Buehner, which was made into a movie by the same name. Her other books include Calico Girl, a Kirkus Reviews Best Book of the Year, and Irene’s Wish, illustrated by A.G. Ford, which Kirkus Reviews called “delightful and memorable” in a starred review. Ms. Nolen is an educator and lives in Ellicott City, Maryland.

KADIR NELSON is one of the most talented artists in the field of children's illustration. His work has appeared in The New Yorker and The New York Times, and he worked on the visual development for DreamWorks SKG films Amistad and Spirit - Stallion of the Cimarron. His Thunder Rose, written by Jerdine Nolen, was a Coretta Scott King Honor Book for Illustration, his Ellington Was Not a Street written by Ntozake Shange, received the Coretta Scott King Medal for Illustration and his Hewitt Anderson's Great Big Life, written by Jerdine Nolen, won the 2005 Society of Illustrators Gold Medal. He is also the illustrator of Roslyn and Deloris Jordan's Salt in His Shoes (Fall 2000), Will Smith's Just the Two of Us (Summer 2001), and Spike and Tonya Lee's Please Baby Please (Fall 2002) and the follow up Please Puppy Please (Fall 2005) as well as Roslyn and Deloris Jordan's Michael's Golden Rules.