Thanksgiving at the Tappletons'

Eileen fell in love with words and decided to become a writer as a young child at Sellers Memorial Library. She is the author of many children’s books, along with being a mother and a grandmother, and currently lives with her husband, Jerry Spinelli, who is also an author in Pennsylvania. When she is not writing books (which she does longhand, and then on an electric typewriter), she enjoys drinking tea, picking herbs, trying on hats and star-gazing with her husband.

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.