Encounter: Narrative Nonfiction Picture Books Books

The youngest in a family of nine children, Julie Gassman grew up in Howard, South Dakota. After college, she traded in small-town life for the world of magazine publishing in New York City. She now lives in southern Minnesota with her husband and their three children.

Gwendolyn Hooks has written many books including If You Were A Kid During the Civil Rights Movement, The Cat Food Mystery, and Tiny Stitches: The Life of Medical Pioneer Vivien Thomas, for which she received the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Children’s Literature. She is the recipient of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators Crystal Kite Award and her book Block Party is a Junior Library Guide selection. Gwendolyn resides in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

Simone Agoussoye is an artist who has been drawing and painting since she was a little girl. Art has always been an outlet for Simone, and by third grade, she knew exactly what she wanted to be when she grew up–an artist. Simone’s work incorporates color, nature, and emotion, and she enjoys drawing and painting portraits most of all. Simone lives and works in Baltimore, MD.