Martha and Mitch Weiss Bio: Martha Hamilton and Mitch Weiss are a husband-and-wife writing and storytelling team known as "Beauty and the Beast Storytellers." They have traveled the world sharing their passion for the oral tradition and the art of telling great stories. They have co-authored thirteen books and two audio recordings with August House. A number of their books have won numerous awards including Irma Simonton Black and James H. Black Award for Excellence in Children's Literature (awarded by Bank Street College of Education), Parents' Choice, National Parenting Publications Awards, and Storytelling World. Mitch and Martha's story collections include world tales that they tell in a conversational manner so that children can easily comprehend and then share the stories by telling them to other students. Parents and teachers can find a wealth of information on how to get children excited about reading, telling world tales, and making up their own stories at Mitch and Martha's website.Kristen Balouch Bio: Kristen Balouch was born in Chicago and she turned out to be sort of a dreamy child with an even more colorful interior world.

She always loved making things and using her hands to create whatever she imagined. At 17, she packed a bag and moved to Brooklyn, New York where she landed at Pratt Institute and felt right at home in a world of creative misfits. Since then she's been creating beautiful things whenever and wherever she can.