Hope Anita Smith

HOPE ANITA SMITH didn't want to just tell the story of a father who disappears: I wanted this story to have a different ending, an ending that proves wrongs can be righted and it's never too late to say 'I'm sorry.' A native of Akron, Ohio, Ms. Smith now lives in Los Angeles, California. The Way a Door Closes is her first book for young readers.

SHANE W. EVANS has illustrated several highly regarded books for children, including Down the Winding Road and Osceola: Memories of a Sharecropper's Daughter, for which he received a Boston Globe-Horn Book Honor. His artwork has been exhibited in Paris, Chicago, New York, and West Africa. A native of Upstate New York, Mr. Evans currently lives in Kansas City, Missouri.