People Who Shaped Our World Books

AURA LEWIS is an illustrator based in New York City. She is a recent graduate of the MFA program in the Illustration as Visual Essay program at the School of Visual Arts.

Laurie Wallmark has degrees in Biochemistry from Princeton University, Information Systems from Goddard College, and Writing for Children and Young Adults from the Vermont College of Fine Arts. Her debut book, Ada Byron Lovelace and the Thinking Machine (Creston Books), received four starred reviews (Kirkus, Publishers Weekly, Booklist, and School Library Journal), praise in The New York Times, and numerous awards. Laurie lives in NJ. Twitter: @lauriewallmark. With a BFA in Illustration and Entertainment Arts from Pasadena Art Center College of Design in 2007, Katy Wu has worked for Google, Laika, Pixar, CinderBiter, and Simon & Schuster. Grace Hopper was her first picture book; her second was Dumpling Dreams, written by Carrie Clickard (Simon and Schuster). She has also worked on such projects as the feature film Coraline. She lives in New York City. Follow her online at katycwwu.tumblr.com.

With three sisters and two daughters, Michelle Lord believes in girl power. She is the author of Sterling’s A Girl Called Genghis Khan, as well as A Song for Cambodia,Little Sap and Monsieur Rodin, and numerous science books. Michelle lives in New Braunfels, TX, with her family.

Marcie Wessels loves to play games - especially board games like Scrabble. She tinkers with words and invents stories including PIRATE’S LULLABY: MUTINY AT BEDTIME and THE BOY WHO THOUGHT OUTSIDE THE BOX: THE STORY OF VIDEO GAME INVENTOR RALPH BAER. She lives in San Diego, California. You can find her online at www.marciewessels.com

Alice Faye Duncan is the author of several books, including the classic NAACP Award–nominated board book, Honey Baby Sugar Child, and Just Like a Mama. Ms. Duncan is a school librarian in Memphis, Tennessee, and conducts writing workshops for parents and educators. Her latest picture book, Memphis, Martin and the Mountaintop, received a starred review from Kirkus Reviews.

Teresa Robeson was born in Hong Kong, raised in Canada, and now writes and creates from her mini-homestead in southern Indiana where she lives with her scientist husband. A nonfiction winner of the We Need Diverse Books Mentorship Program, Teresa advocates for greater scientific and cultural literacy.

Katy Wu received a BFA in Illustration and Entertainment Arts from Pasadena Art Center College of Design. She has worked as a Google “Doodler” and as a concept artist for Laika, Pixar, and Blue Sky Animation Studios. She is the illustrator of two previous picture books, Dumpling Dreams and Grace Hopper: Queen of Computer Code.

Alleanna Harris is an illustrator and artist from Willingboro, NJ. She graduated from the University of the Arts in 2015 with a BFA in Animation. Visit her online at alleannaharris.com and on Instagram @alleannaharris.

Beatriz Castro born in Logroño, La Rioja, Spain. After graduating from the School of Arts in Logroño in 2008, she embarked on a career as a professional illustrator. Her art has appeared on covers and in books produced by international publishers. Beatriz lives in her native town with her family.