Carole Lindstrom is the author of the New York Times bestselling and Caldecott Award-winning We Are Water Protectors. She is Anishinaabe/Métis and is a proud member of the Turtle Mountain Band of Ojibwe Indians. She was born and raised in Nebraska and currently makes her home in Maryland. carolelindstrom.com

Awards

Caldecott Award, Charlotte Huck Award, Jane Addams Children’s Book Award, Carter G. Woodson Award

3 Fun Facts

1. I have a cat with thumbs.
2. I loved stuffies and have a ton of them.
3. Sometimes I eat ice cream for lunch. 🙂

J. S. Lemon grew up outside of Philadelphia, and chances are, so did you. She spent most of her childhood worrying about hair removal and trying to make people laugh. Even though middle school was quite a while ago, it still sits right beneath her skin. Lemon was the first girl, on both sides of her family, to graduate college, and she did so while wearing an “I’m with stupid” T-shirt under her gown. She has been an animal psychic, a mime coach, and a spokesperson for the Crocs Evening Wear Collection—all without leaving her home. Most days you can find her gossiping with her dog and writing until her thumbs ache. Her hobbies include doodling, listening to smooth ‘70s music, and dodging invitations to go hiking. She does a pretty good Cher impression. jslemonbooks.com

3 Fun Facts

1. I was an artist for years before writing my first novel.
2. My “real” age is 12. What about you?
3. I can play “fake piano”- I make it up and it sounds like the saddest movie soundtrack you’ve ever heard.

Jessica Love is the award winning author & illustrator of Julián Is a Mermaid, Julián at the Wedding and A Bed of Stars. She studied Visual Art at the University of California, Santa Cruz, and then Drama at The Juilliard School. She lived New York City for 15 years making plays, and now she lives in the Hudson Valley with her husband and son, and makes books.

Awards

Stonewall Book Award, Bologna Opera Prima Award, Klauss Flugge Prize, Ezra Jack Keats Honor

3 Fun Facts

1. I worked as a professional actor for 15 years, and my first time in the Hudson Valley was to play Rosalind at the the Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival and I fell in love with it here.
2. I love swimming more than almost anything else in the world.
3. My favorite flavor is sour.

Tara Lazar- Street magic performer. Hog-calling champion. Award-winning ice sculptor. These are all things Tara Lazar has never been. Instead, she writes quirky, humorous picture books where anything is possible! taralazar.com

Awards

SCBWI Crystal Kite, SCBWI Golden Kite, Irma Black Book Award

3 Fun Facts

1. My wheelchair is “sky blue”.
2. I used to be a competitive figure skater.
3. My favorite food is tacos!

Nanette Torchia Lavin, a Hudson native, attended Greenport Elementary and Hudson High. As a social worker in a preschool for the past 25 years, she knows how children connect with food. No suitcase is required for Nanette’s debut, Recipe Road Trip, Cooking Your Way Across the USA. This book was created out of her love of travel, cooking, and children. Nanette lives in Lynbrook, New York with her daughter, Emma, and their three-year-old Wheaten Terrier Maddie. www.kitcheninkpublishing.com

Awards

A fantastic Kirkus review “A colorful celebration of food and culture—children will delight in cooking (and eating) their way around the nation”- Wonderful five star reviews including profile on Net Galley and a bulk sale to the Junior Library Guild (JLG).

3 Fun Facts

1. Born and raised in Hudson, NY
2. Children’s yoga teacher
3. Won a Today Show costume contest and the prize was a trip to Harry & Meghan’s royal wedding in London

Mylisa Larsen has been telling stories for a long time. This has caused her to get gimlet-eyed looks from her parents, her siblings and, later, her own children when they felt that certain stories had been embellished beyond acceptable limits. She now writes children’s books where her talents for hyperbole are actually rewarded. She is the author of the picture books All Of Those Babies, How To Put Your Parents To Bed, If I Were A Kangaroo and Ho Ho Homework and the novels Playing Through The Turnaround and Quagmire Tiarello Couldn’t Be Better. She has lived in eight states and two countries and has loved things about all of them. Right now, she lives in upstate New York near one of the Finger Lakes where she loves the water and the trees and the old libraries. https://www.mylisalarsen.com/

Awards

Playing Through The Turnaround-starred reviews in Kirkus and Publishers Weekly
If I Were A Kangaroo-chosen by Raising Readers to be distributed to 11,000 kids in Maine
If I Were A Kangaroo-selected for Imagination Library selection in 2018 and 2019

3 Fun Facts

1. I grew up on a farm
2. I’ve lived in eight different states and in Brazil.
3. I have a dog named Sophie who is convinced that pirates are trying to break into the house at all hours.

Rajani LaRocca was born in India, raised in Kentucky, and now lives in the Boston area, where she practices medicine and writes award-winning books for young readers, including the Newbery Honor winning middle grade novel in verse, Red, White, and Whole. She’s always been an omnivorous reader, and now she is an omnivorous writer of fiction and nonfiction, novels and picture books, prose and poetry. She finds inspiration in her family, her childhood, the natural world, math, science, and just about everywhere she looks. Learn more about Rajani and her books at www.RajaniLaRocca.com.

Awards
Newbery Honor, Walter Dean Myers Award, Massachusetts Book Award, New England Book Award, SCBWI Golden Kite Award, SCBWI Crystal Kite Award, Charlotte Zolotow Highly Commended Title, NCTE Notable Poetry Book, among many state lists and other awards

3 Fun Facts

1. I’m a practicing doctor
2. I love to cook and bake
3. I have a cute fluffy dog

Leslie Bulion creates award-winning science poetry steeped in hands-on learning experiences, nature observation, research, humor and imagery in a variety of poetic forms. Her illustrated collections invite readers on multi-layered science adventures exploring spiders, birds, sea creatures, insects, amphibians, and more. Leslie’s graduate science background and years as a school social worker inform both her poetry and her science-infused novels for young readers. She offers lively and engaging author visits worldwide. Her two newest science poetry books, SERENGETI: PLAINS OF GRASS and GALAPAGOS: ISLANDS OF CHANGE take readers on poetic tours of two of Earth’s remarkable ecosystems (Peachtree 2022, 2023). www.lesliebulion.com

NCTE Notable Poetry, NSTA Outstanding Science Trade Book, Bank Street College Best Books, Parents’ Choice Awards, AAAS Outstanding Science Book

3 Fun Facts

1. The first critter I ever saw while scuba diving was a common mudpuppy (a large, freshwater aquatic salamander—an amphibian) in the depths of freezing cold Cayuga Lake, Ithaca, NY.
2. My parents were teachers who also worked as summer camp counselors, so I started summer camp when I was three years old. My favorite camp was just about an hour south of Hudson, in Beacon, NY.
3. I never go exploring without my __________? How would you fill in this blank? For me, it’s my rubber boots!