Lynne Rae Perkins writes and illustrates picture books for young children (Snow Music) as well as novels for middle and high school kids. Her stories explore family, friendships, and the many small but meaningful moments that shape childhood and adolescence. Her YA novel Criss Cross, winner of the 2006 Newbery Medal, is a book of vignettes, illustrations, photographs, and poems about a group of four small-town teenagers. Perkins also draws inspiration from the sights and sounds of the natural world.
Mac Barnett is the bestselling author of more than 60 books for children, including Extra Yarn and Sam and Dave Dig a Hole, both illustrated by Jon Klassen, and both winners of a Caldecott Honor and the E.B. White Read-Aloud Award. He loves his work because, he says, kids are “the sincerest appreciators of stories, a uniquely receptive and honest audience.” Mac was named the 2025-26 National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature by the Library of Congress.
