Aimee Reid is an author with a background in education and editing. She taught high school English, music, and special education before she began to work full-time as a writer. She is the author of Mama's Day with Little Gray , Welcome Home , and First Morning Sun . Rashin Kheiriyeh is an internationally recognized, award-winning illustrator, author, animator, and painter who has over twenty years of experience in publication and broadcasting. She has published over eighty children's books in many countries. She has received many national and international awards including the Sendak Fellowship Award. Rashin is the character artist of the most popular Iranian animated series, Shekarestan/Sugarland . She was born in Iran but now lives in Washington, DC.