Ted Kooser was the U.S. Poet Laureate from 2004 to 2006 and won a Pulitzer Prize for his book of poems Delights & Shadows. He is the author of more than a dozen full-length volumes of poetry and several books of nonfiction, and his work has appeared in many periodicals. His picture books include Bag in the Wind and The Bell in the Bridge, both illustrated by Barry Root, and House Held Up by Trees, a New York Times Book Review Best Illustrated Children’s Book of the Year, illustrated by Jon Klassen. Ted Kooser lives in Garland, Nebraska.