Tara Lazar writes quirky, humorous picture books, often featuring magical places that everyone will want to visit! Her most recent book 7 Ate 9: The Untold Story was honored with the 2018 Irma S. & James H. Black Award for Excellence in Children’s Literature from Bank Street College of Education. Her other titles include The Monstore (2013), I Thought This Was a Bear Book (2015), Little Red Gliding Hood (2015), Normal Norman (2016), and Way Past Bedtime (2017). She’s a co-chair of the Rutgers University Council on Children’s Literature conference and a former picture book mentor for We Need Diverse Books. Tara lives in New Jersey with her husband, two daughters, and a skateboarding hamster named Ace.
As a seasoned professional in the animation industry, Pete Oswald’s credits include traditional animation, CG, and stop motion. Pete’s work as an illustrator and designer includes Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends, Madagascar 2, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, ParaNorman, and Hotel Transylvania. His short film, The Story of Walls (2009), earned him an Annie Award nomination. Pete and his family live in Santa Monica, California.