You Are a Reader! / You Are a Writer!

April Jones Prince created her first book, The Adventures of David, using markers, printer paper, and staples, when she was just five. By the time she was eight, she had decided she wanted to be a writer when she grew up. But it wasn’t until April graduated from college that she realized she wanted to write for children. “”The books we love as children affect us like no other books we read in our lifetimes,” she says. “They stay with us and shape us. Plus, they give kids the perfect opportunity to crawl into the lap of someone who loves them and listen to a good story. What could be better?”” Before becoming an author, April worked in the editorial departments of William Morrow Books for Young Readers and HarperCollins Children’s Books. Today, she works as an editor at Studio Goodwin Sturges in Providence and teaches part-time at Rhode Island School of Design. April is the author of 11 books, with three more on the way. Her books span the range from board books to chapter-book nonfiction and have been designated a New York Public Library’s 100 Books for Reading and Sharing, a CBC-NCSS Notable Social Studies Trade Book, an Oppenheimer Toy Portfolio Gold Seal, a Child Magazine Best Book of the Year, and Amazon Best Books of the Month and Year. She writes, visits schools, and lives with her family in Massachusetts.

As a young girl growing up in Tours, France, Christine Davenier loved listening to her older sister read fairy tales aloud. But she frequently found herself wondering, What does the princess’s beautiful dress look like? or How exquisite are her jewels? Christine was left to her own imagination, for the books had few illustrations. So it comes as little surprise that today, Christine embraces her career as an illustrator. “I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to create the illustrations I dreamed about seeing as a child,” she says. When Christine was fourteen, she received her first box of watercolor paints, a gift from her grandmother. That was the beginning of many afternoons spent painting together in her grandmother’s garden. “My grandmother was an extraordinary woman,” Christine says. “Even though she worked in an office all her life, she was an artist through and through. She shared everything she knew about color—in painting and in life. Her wisdom and talent still inspire me today.” She has illustrated many picture books, including The Other Dog by Madeline L’Engle and The Very Fairy Princess series by Julie Andrews and Emma Walton Hamilton. Christine lives in Paris, France.