Smart About Books

Dana Gustafson Regan is a children’s book author and illustrator. She has written 10 books and illustrated more than 80 titles for a variety of publishers including Random House, Penguin, Scholastic, HarperCollins and Grosset & Dunlap.

Jon Buller works as a team with his wife, Susan Schade. They have worked together on many previous books for children. Jon does the illustrating and Susan writes the stories. For the Fog Mound trilogy, Jon went back to what first sparked his interest in drawing–comics. They live in Lyme, Connecticut.

Maryann Cocca-Leffler is the Author and Illustrator of over 60 books for children. Maryann’s books, “Janine” and “Janine and the Field Day Finish”, (A 2016 ILA Teacher’s Pick) were inspired by her daughter, Janine. (www.janinesparty.com). Other recent books include, “Same Way Ben” (Albert Whitman 2019), “The Belonging Tree” (Christy Ottaviano Books 2020) and “The Power of YET” (Abrams 2021). Maryann grew up in Boston (depicted in her favorite book “Bus Route to Boston”) and now lives in Maine where she is busy on her next book. She loves to connect with kids in classrooms, in person or virtually, to inspire kindness, creativity and literacy.

Jill Weber doubles as a children’s book illustrator and designer. Her favorite projects are the ones where she wears both hats. She has illustrated numerous books for children and adults. She has three new books coming out next year—Pippa’s Passover Plate by Vivian Kirkfield (Holiday House, NY), What Is The Story of Hello Kitty? by Kirsten Anderson (Penguin Workshop, NY) and Goodnight Bubbala by Sheryl Haft (Dial Books for Young Readers, NY). When she is not in her studio drawing or at NHIA teaching, she can found working in her garden.