Shaking Things Up

Susan Hood has written more than 200 picture books. She has received starred reviews in Publishers Weekly and Booklist, and her book Spike, The Mixed-Up Monster won the 2013 International Latino Award and was selected for the Charlotte Zolotow Highly Commended List. The Tooth Mouse was named a 2013 Best Book of the Year by Bank Street and the Cooperative Children’s Book Center. Prior to becoming an author, Susan was a children’s magazine editor at Scholastic and Instructor Magazine, a book editor at Sesame Workshop, and the Children’s Content Director of Nick Jr. Magazine. Ada’s Violin is her latest nonfiction picture book and Lifeboat 12 is her first novel in verse.

Sophie Blackall (www.sophieblackall.com) is the illustrator of several award-winning picture books, including Meet Wild Boars by Meg Rosoff, Pecan Pie Baby by Jacqueline Woodson, Big Red Lollipop (by Rukhsana Khan), and the Ivy and Bean books by Annie Barrows. Her many honors include a BCCB Blue Ribbon, Ezra Jack Keats New Illustrator Award, Society of Illustrators Founders Award, Publishers Weekly Best Children’s Book, Book Sense 76 Pick, and New York Times Top Ten Picture Book. Her artwork has also appeared in murals as part of the New York City MTA’s “Arts for Transit” program. Previously she has had jobs in a shoe shop and a robot factory. She lives in Brooklyn, New York.

EMILY WINFIELD MARTIN sketches, paints, and stitches to create imaginary worlds and characters. She is the author-illustrator of many picture books, including Dream Animals, Day Dreamers, and The Wonderful Things You Will Be, as well as a chapter book, Oddfellow’s Orphanage. Emily lives among the giant fir trees of Portland, Oregon, with her fellow adventurer, Josiah, and their cat, Miette. Visit her online at EmilyWinfieldMartin.com, BlackApple.typepad.com, or Etsy.com/shop/theblackapple.

Shadra Strickland studied, design, writing, and illustration at Syracuse University and later went on to complete her MFA at the School of Visual Arts in New York City. She won the Ezra Jack Keats Award and the Coretta Scott King/John Steptoe Award for New Talent in 2009 for her work in her first picture book, Bird, written by Zetta Elliott. Strickland co-illustrated Our Children Can Soar, winner of a 2010 NAACP Image Award. She teaches illustration at Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore, Maryland. Visit her online at ShadraStrickland.com.

Melissa Sweet has illustrated more than eighty children’s books, including the Caldecott Honor books The Right Word and A River of Words: The Story of William Carlos Williams both written by Jen Bryant. She also wrote and illustrated Tupelo Rides the Rails; Carmine: A Little More Red, which was a New York Times Best Illustrated Children’s Book; and Balloons Over Broadway, a picture book biography that was named a 2011 Publishers Weekly Best Nonfiction Picture Book. When she is not in her studio, Melissa can be found taking an art class, hiking with her dogs, or riding her bicycle. She lives with her family in Rockport, Maine.

LeUyen Pham has illustrated more than fifty books, including board books, picture books, chapter books, and graphic novels. Her work has been recognized with numerous honors, including the Society of Illustrators Los Angeles Bronze Medal in the Children’s Book category, and Best Books of the Year lists in publications such as Kirkus Reviews, Horn Book Magazine, and Comic Book Resources. She is also a New York Times bestseller for Grace for President, written by Kelly DiPucchio; Freckleface Strawberry and the Dodgeball Bully, written by Julianne Moore; and Princess in Black, written by Shannon and Dean Hale. Born in Vietnam, LeUyen came to the United States at the end of the Vietnam War when she was only two. She studied illustration at The Art Center College of Design, and for a short period of time worked at DreamWorks Animation as a layout artist before turning to illustration full time. She lives with her husband (who is also an artist) and two sons in Los Angeles.

Oge Mora graduated from the Rhode Island School of Design with a BFA in illustration. When not painting in her studio, Oge is in the kitchen cooking her late grandmother’s recipes. Her first picture book, Thank You, Omu!, was a Caldecott Honor, a New York Times Notable Book and Editors’ Choice, and a Junior Library Guild selection. She lives in Providence, Rhode Island, and invites you to visit her website at www.ogemora.com.

Julie Morstad is an award-winning illustrator and artist living with her family in Vancouver, B.C.

Lisa Brown is a New York Times bestselling illustrator and author. Books she has illustrated include Goldfish Ghost, by Lemony Snicket, and her own The Airport Book. She lives in San Francisco. Visit her at online at americanchickens.com and on Twitter at @lisabrowndraws.

Selina Alko grew up in Canada and has been a painter since she was a child. She loves mixing materials together to create artwork for her award-winning children’s books. Besides working in her studio, Selina likes to travel, be involved in her community, and spend time with her children. Selina makes her home in Brooklyn, NY, with her family and their two parakeets, Sunny and Snowy.

Hadley Hooper is an illustrator and painter. Her 2014 book, The Iridescence of Birds, by Patricia MacLachlan, was named a Kirkus Reviews Best Children’s Book. She lives in Denver, Colorado.

Isabel Roxas is the littlest of her tribe. She is an artist with a taste for the odd and uncommon and for tales that go awry. She has illustrated several books including Let Me Finish! with author Minh Lè and A Day in the Market with May Tobias-Papa. When Isabel is not crafting pictures and stories, she is making little creatures out of clay. Learn more about Isabel online at studioroxas.com or on Instagram at @studioroxas.

Sara Palacios is the illustrator of the Agnes and Clarabelle chapter books and several picture books, including the Pura Belpré Honor-winning Marisol McDonald Doesn’t Match. She lives in San Francisco and Mexico City. www.sarapalaciosillustrations.com • @sarapalaciosillustrations (Instagram)