Hey, Hey, Hay!

Christy Mihaly writes for young readers because she believes that our best hope for the future is raising kids who love to read. She has published more than 20 children’s nonfiction titles on topics from free speech to food to fashion. After stints residing in six other states, and Spain, she settled happily with her family in rural Vermont where she writes under the careful supervision of her dog and cat. She enjoys walking in the woods and playing the cello (though not simultaneously). Christy’s picture book “Free for You and Me: What Our First Amendment Means,” is a lively introduction to the freedoms protected in the First Amendment. “Hey, Hey, Hay! (A Tale of Bales and the Machines That Make Them),” a 2019 Bank Street Best Children’s Book of the Year, follows a farm girl and her mother as they bring in the hay. Both picture books offer additional information in the back–including a recipe for switchel in HAY.

Joe Cepeda received his Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from California State University, Long Beach, and also studied Engineering at Cornell University. He is a fine artist, as well as an illustrator of more than thirty-five book jackets and picture books, which have received many honors including Notable Children’s Trade Book in the Field of Social Studies, Parenting Magazine’s Reading Magic Award, Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Platinum Award, Texas Library Association 2x2 Reading List, ALA Notable Books, and Child Magazine’s Best Book of the Year. Joe illustrated Hey, Hey, Hay! by Christy Mihaly, ¡Vamonos! Let’s Go! by Rene Colato Lainez, and Swing Sisters by Karen Deans. He both wrote and illustrated two I Like to Read books–Up and I Dig. Joe received an American Library Association Pura Belprè Honor and the Recognition of Merit Award from the George G. Stone Center for Children’s Books. He lives in Southern California.