NIKKI GRIMES is the recipient of the 2006 NCTE Award for Excellence in Poetry for Children. Her distinguished works include the ALA Notable book What is Goodbye?, as well as the novels Jazmin's Notebook , Dark Sons , and The Road to Paris , all of them Coretta Scott King Author Honor Books. She won the Coretta Scott King Author Award for Bronx Masquerade . Ms. Grimes lives in Corona, California. Visit Nikki at www.nikkigrimes.com.

Bryan Collier is a beloved illustrator known for his unique style combining watercolor and detailed collage in his work. He is a four-time Caldecott Honor recipient, a six-time Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award recipient and a three-time Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honor Award recipient. Rosa by Nikki Grimes, Dave the Potter by Laban Carrick Hill, Trombone Shorty by Troy Andrews, and Martin's Big Words by Doreen Rapport were all named Caldecott Honor Books. His Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award books include, Trombone Shorty by Troy Andrews and Bill Taylor; Knock, Knock , by Daniel Beaty; I Too Am America by Langston Hughes; Rosa by Nikki Grimes; Dave the Potter by Laban Carrick Hill; and Uptown , which he also wrote. For Visiting Langston by Willie Perdomo and Freedom River by Doreen Rappaport and Martin's Big Words by Doreen Rapport he received the Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honor Award. Barack Obama by Nikki Grimes, which he illustrated, was a #1 New York Times bestseller. He lives in New York with his family.