Librarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads database. Gwendolyn Hooks was born in Savannah, Georgia, and lived in Texas, Washington, and Italy thanks to her Air Force dad. She earned a degree in secondary math education from the University of Missouri in St. Louis. After teaching middle school math, Gwendolyn decided to follow her new passion, writing for children. She loves visiting schools and libraries sharing her writing life with students. For inspiration, she turns to her husband, three kids and a cat.

Kate Messner is an award-winning author, TED 2012 speaker, and former middle school English teacher. Her books for kids include THE BRILLIANT FALL OF GIANNA Z.,SUGAR AND ICE, and EYE OF THE STORM (Walker/Bloomsbury Dec. 2010) the MARTY MCGUIRE series (Scholastic), SEA MONSTER'S FIRST DAY, and OVER AND UNDER THE SNOW (Chronicle, Books). Kate also wrote SPITFIRE and CHAMPLAIN AND THE SILENT ONE, both Lake Champlain historical novels published by North Country Books. Kate lives with her family on Lake Champlain, where she loves to read, write, hike, swing on birch trees, and eat chocolate. She also hangs out in various places online. Visit Kate's website: http://www.katemessner.com Find Kate on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/KateMessner ...or follow her on Twitter - @katemessner