Barbara Herkert

Barbara Herkert has been creating stories since the first grade and is also the author of Mary Cassatt: Extraordinary Impressionist Painter. She received an MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults from Hamline University and studied art and art history at Oregon State University. She now lives on the Oregon coast with her family and spends time in a log house near Bend, Oregon. You can learn more about Barbara and her books at BarbaraHerkert.com.

Vanessa Brantley-Newton is a self-taught illustrator, doll maker, and crafter who studied fashion illustration at the Fashion Institute of Technology and children's book illustration at the School of Visual Arts in New York City. She is the author and illustrator of Let Freedom Sing and Don't Let Auntie Mabel Bless the Table and has illustrated numerous children's books, including One Love and Every Little Thing, words by Bob & Cedella Marley, and Presenting Tallulah by Tori Spelling. Vanessa currently makes her nest in Charlotte, North Carolina, with her husband, daughter, and a very rambunctious cat named Stripes. Learn more about Vanessa and her artwork at OohLaLaDesignStudio.blogspot.com.