Leslaa Newman

Leslea Newman is a poet, an animal lover, and the author of "Runaway Dreidel!," "Cats, Cats, Cats!," "Daddy's Song," and other picture books. Her awards include the Parents' Choice Silver Medal and a Poetry Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts. She has a B.S. in education from the University of Vermont and a Certificate of Poetics from Naropa Institute, where she was Allen Ginsburg's apprentice. She has worked as a preschool teacher, secretary, waitress, freelance reporter, and sales clerk, and now teaches writing for children and young adults at Spalding University. She lives in western Massachusetts.

Machiyo Kodaira is a native of Tokyo, Japan, and a graduate of Parsons School of Design. Hachi's story was Ms. Kodaira's first book for young readers."