LILA GUZMAN is the author of the award winning Lorenzo Series set during the American Revolution. Lorenzo and the Pirate, the fourth book in the series, continues the saga of Spain's role in the Revolutionary War. Lorenzo and the Turncoat won the 2006 Arizona Authors Literary Award. Her other works include Kichi in Jungle Jeopardy, a middle-grade level novel about a sacred blue chihuahua lost in the Mayan jungle, and George Lopez: Latino King of Comedy.

JENNIFER KINDERT was raised in Sweden and attended the International Art School in Stockholm, and later earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree in Illustration from New York City’s Fashion Institute of Technology-State University of New York. Her illustrated children’s book titles include: “Hurry Up” by Bernette Ford, “Mommy’s Bed” by Sonia Blackboth part of the “Just For You!” series published by Scholastic as well as “The Christmas Puppy” and “Llamas in Pajamas” by Teddy Slater, published by Sterling/Barnes & Noble. Her desire to share her passion for illustration manifests itself in holding arts & crafts workshops for various charitable organizations that focus on the welfare of children and adolescents in the Dallas Metroplex area. She also conducts school visits and aims to inspire both the young and young-at-heart to view and use drawing and painting as means of self-expression and as problem solving enablers. Jennifer currently resides in Dallas, TX and works as a freelance illustrator and portrait artist.

JENNIFER KINDERT was raised in Sweden and attended the International Art School in Stockholm, and later earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree in Illustration from New York City’s Fashion Institute of Technology-State University of New York. Her illustrated children’s book titles include: “Hurry Up” by Bernette Ford, “Mommy’s Bed” by Sonia Blackboth part of the “Just For You!” series published by Scholastic as well as “The Christmas Puppy” and “Llamas in Pajamas” by Teddy Slater, published by Sterling/Barnes & Noble. Her desire to share her passion for illustration manifests itself in holding arts & crafts workshops for various charitable organizations that focus on the welfare of children and adolescents in the Dallas Metroplex area. She also conducts school visits and aims to inspire both the young and young-at-heart to view and use drawing and painting as means of self-expression and as problem solving enablers. Jennifer currently resides in Dallas, TX and works as a freelance illustrator and portrait artist.

JENNIFER KINDERT was raised in Sweden and attended the International Art School in Stockholm, and later earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree in Illustration from New York City’s Fashion Institute of Technology-State University of New York. Her illustrated children’s book titles include: “Hurry Up” by Bernette Ford, “Mommy’s Bed” by Sonia Blackboth part of the “Just For You!” series published by Scholastic as well as “The Christmas Puppy” and “Llamas in Pajamas” by Teddy Slater, published by Sterling/Barnes & Noble. Her desire to share her passion for illustration manifests itself in holding arts & crafts workshops for various charitable organizations that focus on the welfare of children and adolescents in the Dallas Metroplex area. She also conducts school visits and aims to inspire both the young and young-at-heart to view and use drawing and painting as means of self-expression and as problem solving enablers. Jennifer currently resides in Dallas, TX and works as a freelance illustrator and portrait artist.

LUPE RUIZ-FLORES considers herself a “late bloomer” because she didn’t start writing until after she retired from the Department of Defense as an engineering technician. In the beginning, she entered writing contests “to test the waters,” and to her pleasant surprise actually got a byline in a few magazines. From then on, Lupe was hooked. A native of San Antonio, Texas, Ruiz-Flores grew up part of a close-knit family of eleven brothers and sisters during the 1950s in a Mexican-American barrio. Although there wasn’t any money for books in my household when I was growing up,” she says, “my father and grandmother were great storytellers. I have a treasure trove of memories that I can write about.” In 1994, Ruiz-Flores received a Master of Arts in Computer Resources and Information Management from Webster University in St. Louis, Missouri. After her retirement from the DOD in 1999, she worked as a staff writer at a Catholic newspaper for two years where she received the Eileen Egan Honorary Award for one of her stories. Since then, she’s written numerous articles for local and national publications.

Her most recent bilingual picture book for children is The Woodcutter’s Gift / El regalo del leñador (Piñata Books, 2007), which celebrates community and folk art. Her first picture book, Lupita’s Papalote / El papalote de Lupita (Piñata Books, 2002), focuses on a loving relationship between a young girl and her father and their shared love of kites.
She has also written children’s narrative passages for Harcourt Educational Measurement Center, and her poetry has been published in magazines such as Voices Along the River, the San Antonio Express-News, and Borderlands: Texas Poetry Review.

LUPE RUIZ-FLORES considers herself a “late bloomer” because she didn’t start writing until after she retired from the Department of Defense as an engineering technician. In the beginning, she entered writing contests “to test the waters,” and to her pleasant surprise actually got a byline in a few magazines. From then on, Lupe was hooked. A native of San Antonio, Texas, Ruiz-Flores grew up part of a close-knit family of eleven brothers and sisters during the 1950s in a Mexican-American barrio. Although there wasn’t any money for books in my household when I was growing up,” she says, “my father and grandmother were great storytellers. I have a treasure trove of memories that I can write about.” In 1994, Ruiz-Flores received a Master of Arts in Computer Resources and Information Management from Webster University in St. Louis, Missouri. After her retirement from the DOD in 1999, she worked as a staff writer at a Catholic newspaper for two years where she received the Eileen Egan Honorary Award for one of her stories. Since then, she’s written numerous articles for local and national publications.

Her most recent bilingual picture book for children is The Woodcutter’s Gift / El regalo del leñador (Piñata Books, 2007), which celebrates community and folk art. Her first picture book, Lupita’s Papalote / El papalote de Lupita (Piñata Books, 2002), focuses on a loving relationship between a young girl and her father and their shared love of kites.
ldren. Family gatherings are a high priority for her and bring her much joy. She has lived in Bangkok, Thailand, and Okinawa, JapanFor more information, visit www.luperuiz-flores.com. She lives in San Antonio, TX.

ELEANORA TATE is a children's book author, folklorist, short story writer, creative writing teacher and former newspaper reporter. She’s a 1999 Zora Neale Hurston Award winner, the highest award given by the National Association of Black Storytellers, Inc., of which she is a former national president. She teaches children’s literature at North Carolina Central University and is an instructor with the Institute of Children's Literature, West Redding, CT. Her short stories, books, and articles celebrate neighborhoods, communities, and the families who live there.

Her book Celeste's Harlem Renaissance, the 2007 AAUW North Carolina Book Award Winner in Juvenile Literature, was published in April 2007 by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers. She’s also author of The Minstrel’s Melody (Pleasant Company, 2001), a Notable Children’s Trade Book in the Field of Social Studies, and A Blessing in Disguise (Delacorte, 1995), an American Book-sellers Association Pick of the Lists. Thank You, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.! (Watts, 1990) is a Notable Children’s Trade Book and a Child Study Book Committee Children’s Book of the Year. The Secret of Gumbo Grove (Watts, 1987) won the Parents Choice Gold Seal Award and was a finalist for the California Young Reader Medal.

Her other books include Retold African Myths (Perfection Learning, 1993); To Be Free (Steck-Vaughn/Harcourt, 2003); African American Musicians (Wiley, 2000); Don’t Split the Pole: Tales of Down-Home Folk Wisdom (Delacorte, 1997);Front Porch Stories at the One-Room School, a North Carolina Junior Children’s Book Award nominee; and Just An Overnight Guest (Dial, 1980/Just Us Books, 1997), made into an award-winning film in 1983.

Her short stories have appeared in American Girl, Scholastic Storyworks, and Goldfinch magazines, among others, and in anthologies Big City Cool: Short Stories about Urban Youth (Persea Books, 2002); In Praise of Our Fathers and Our Mothers, A Black Family Treasury by Outstanding Authors and Illustrators (Just Us Books). Her essays have been in the Journal of Children’s Literature; Book Links; Obsidian Three; North Carolina Literary Review; The New Advocate; African American Review; and more. She wrote the introduction to Sayin' Somethin', Stories from the National Association of Black Storytellers, Inc.; and the introduction to Ronald Daise's picture book Little Muddy Waters. She was cited by the South Carolina House of Representatives and the South Carolina Senate for her contributions to children’s literature and community activism, and she received the Dr. Annette Lewis Phinazee award from North Carolina Central University during its 2000 Charlemae Rollins Colloquium. She received the Iowa Author award from the Des Moines Library Foundation.

MR. WILLY (sometimes known as "Willy Welch") a children's entertainer, picture book author and recording artist who brings his songs and stories (and sometimes puppets) to schools, churches, child care centers, preschools- wherever!. His children’s books include Playing Right Field, Dancing with Daddy and Grumpy Bunnies. His song hits include Playing Right Field, Whole Lotta Fishin, I’m Gonna Hold Onto You and House of the Carpenter. Mr. Willy has also written and performed for and with thousands of children under the auspices of Young Audiences of North Texas - leading singing with elementary children and working with them on expressing themselves through their own songs.

SAMANTHA SETHI is a painter and freelance illustrator who lives and works in Brooklyn, NY. She studied painting and illustration at the School of Visual
Arts in New York City.

MR. WILLY (sometimes known as "Willy Welch") a children's entertainer, picture book author and recording artist who brings his songs and stories (and sometimes puppets) to schools, churches, child care centers, preschools- wherever!. His children’s books include Playing Right Field, Dancing with Daddy and Grumpy Bunnies. His song hits include Playing Right Field, Whole Lotta Fishin, I’m Gonna Hold Onto You and House of the Carpenter. Mr. Willy has also written and performed for and with thousands of children under the auspices of Young Audiences of North Texas - leading singing with elementary children and working with them on expressing themselves through their own songs.

RAY VILLAREAL had his first brush with the publishing world when he was in the fourth grade. He wrote a story that impressed his teacher so much that she thought it was worth trying to get it published. She shopped it around at different publishing houses. Unfortunately, the story didn’t sell. His teacher was terribly disappointed, and she was sure Ray felt the same way. He didn’t. At nine years old, Ray didn’t fully understand what it meant to receive a rejection letter - or to get published - for that matter. He recalls his teacher wrapping an arm around him, drawing him close to her, and telling him, “Don’t worry about it. One of these days you’re going to get published. I just know you are.” Over forty years later, her prediction finally came true.

Ray Villareal, a native of Dallas, Texas, and one of nine children, received his Bachelor of Arts degree in Education from Southern Methodist University in 1981. Ten years later he completed his Masters of Liberal Arts degree from the same university. He has taught in the Dallas Independent School District for twenty-eight years and currently works as an instructional reading coach.

It was while he was teaching sixth grade that Ray got the idea for his young adult novel, My Father, the Angel of Death. Ray was concerned that every time he took his class to the library, he would observe a number of his students, boys in particular, scanning the library walls in search of something to read and not finding anything they connected with. In the classroom, however, the kids constantly talked about WWE wrestling on TV. So Ray decided to give them what they wanted—a fictional story about what it might be like to be the son of a wrestling superstar. He wrote it specifically to target the male reluctant reader.

My Father, the Angel of Death tells the story of a boy whose father is the ominous, black-clad, skeleton face behemoth, the ACW wrestling heavyweight champion, the Angel of Death.

KRISTINE KAHANEK is an acclaimed television meteorologist who has been forecasting weather in Texas for nearly 20 years. Having received her Bachelor of Science in Meteorology from Texas A&M University, Kristine is certified by both the American Meteorological Society and the National Weather Association. Inspired by her fascination with and knowledge of severe weather, Kristine recognized that children’s natural fear of extreme weather is often alleviated with a simple explanation. Katie and the Magic Uumbrella is the first in a series of children’s picture books, featuring a guardian angel inspired character who teaches readers about thunderstorms.

VAUNDA NELSON, is a working librarian – a senior librarian in Children’s Services at a public library in New Mexico. She began her life in Pennsylvania where she was born into a family of readers. Vaunda’s mother found her name in a novel she was reading the day Vaunda was born. Her mother read to Vaunda and her sisters every day and her father wrote poetry. When she grew up she worked as a news reporter and a teacher before becoming a librarian. Having served twice on the Newbery committee for ALA, Vaunda has been able to study what makes a book a prizewinner.

LAMBERTO ALVAREZ is founder/owner and the creative force of Lamberto Art & Design, LLC, which creates fine art décor for homes and commercial spaces, and fine art paintings and portraits in many media and styles. He is also owner of his other company, Solare Media, a graphic design firm that specializes on creating “out of the box” graphic presentations on either DVD, web or printed formats. Lamberto has been a working artist for over 30 years and has been published by such clients as Walt Disney Co., Time Magazine, Harcourt Brace College Publishers, Verizon, First American, LA Times, among many others. His work has earned many national and international awards, including being named a contributor to a Pulitzer Prize-winning story in 1985. His work in the publishing world has allowed him to illustrate countless of book covers and children’s books, among them “Muffler Man/El Hombre Mofle, and Dancing Miranda/Balla Miranda Balla.” He is also the creator of “El Mickey,” a statue designed for Mickey Mouse’s 75th anniversary. Lamberto’s newest creations are a series of stained concrete art pieces that can be displayed inside homes and commercial buildings or outside by the pool and outdoor kitchen. He also takes commissions for portraits, wall murals, stained concrete art pieces and fine art abstract paintings. Lamberto is a trademark name in the fields of art and photography. To view his artwork, visit www.lamberto.com

FREDDIE WILLIAMS EVANS grew up among extended family members in Madison, Mississippi. She frequently visited older relatives who told her stories about their lives. Her writing grew out of a desire to share those family stories as well as the untold and “under-told” stories of other African Americans. She has won numerous awards for her first book A Bus of Our Own. As an artist, therapist, educator, and administrator, Mrs. Evans has worked with children of all ages and exceptionalities in various public and private settings. Her articles have appeared in local newspapers and her poems appear in several anthologies, including From a Bend in the River: 100 New Orleans Poets.

SHIRLEY SMITH DUKE writes for children of all ages. No Bows! is her first picture book, a story for toddlers about a little girl with her own ideas. Shirley writes teacher guides for Peachtree Publishers and has written for the teen magazine Latingirl. She taught science, reading, and ESL for twenty-five years in elementary school, middle school, and high school in San Antonio, Dallas, and Garland. She holds a bachelor's degree in biology and a master's degree in education from Austin College in Sherman, Texas.