Fiction 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.

Carmen Oliver founded the Booking Biz, an agency devoted to bringing award-winning children’s authors and illustrators to schools, libraries, and special events. She blogs regularly for ReaderKidz, a website that provides teachers, librarians, and parents with the resources and inspiration to foster a love of reading in kids, K-5, and judges children’s writing contents for the Texas Book Festival and Austin Family magazine. Bears Make the Best Reading Buddies is her debut picture book. Carmen grew up in Canada and now lives in Texas with her family.

Andy Elkerton is a children’s book illustrator based in the United Kingdom.

Jean Claude is a self-taught illustrator from Manchester, UK. This is his first picture book.