Uma Menon was raised in Winter Park, Florida. When she was young, she could not find stories that reflected her experience in a multilingual house, so she wrote this book and My Mother's Tongues , also illustrated by Rahele Jomepour Bell. Her writing has appeared in the Washington Post , HuffPost , and the Progressive . She was a National YoungArts Winner for three consecutive years and is a three-time Pushcart Prize nominee. In addition, she was the first Youth Fellow for the International Human Rights Art Festival and an Encore Public Voices Fellow. Uma Menon has an AB in public and international affairs from Princeton University and is currently attending Yale Law School. You can find her online at www.theumamenon.

com. Rahele Jomepour Bell is the illustrator of several picture books, including My Mother's Tongues , also by Uma Menon. She has an MFA in integrated visual arts from Iowa State University. She received an Illustration Mentorship Award from We Need Diverse Books #WNDB and both the Portfolio Award Grand Prize and the Social Media Mentorship Award for Illustrators from the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators. Her inspirations come mostly from her childhood and Friday night family gatherings at her grandparents' house, as well as illustrated books from around the world. She is happiest creating illustrations that send the imagination flying, offer a new look at an old idea, and reassure the viewer of their place in this world. Rahele Jomepour Bell was born in Iran and now lives in Kansas City. You can find her online at www.

rahelestudio.com.