“By all appearances, I am a typical suburban mother,” reports Stephanie True Peters. “I’m forty-three, have two children, Jackson, age 11, and Chloe, age 9, and a husband, Dan, who to me seems ageless. I live in a nice neighborhood in a town just far enough south of Boston to be considered the boonies. I do the grocery shopping, the cleaning (well, sometimes), go to the gym, and operate the ride-on lawnmower with some regularity. Yes, I fit the role of typical suburban mother to a T. “Perhaps this explains the surprised reactions I receive when I tell people that I write children’s books. ‘You do? Really?’ their raised eyebrows and open mouths seem to say. Then come the usual questions: ‘Have you ever been published? Would I know anything you’ve done?’ “I have, and I certainly hope you recognize the titles of some of my books. (If not, feel free to pick one up sometime—or two, or three . . .) “That I am able to spend my days at such work is, on the whole, wonderful. I lose myself for hours in imagined scenarios, made-up people, or buried in research into a fascinating topic. I’m here when my kids and husband need me and can take a day off when I need some ‘me’ time. Sometimes I miss the office life I had years ago, when I was an editor at Little, Brown Children’s Books. Then I compare my commute then (a long ride on public transportation) versus now (a short climb up a flight of stairs) and realize just how lucky I am. “Yet if it hadn’t been for those years with Little, Brown, I wouldn’t have been part of this amazing White House book. It was my old colleague and friend, Hilary Van Dusen, who contacted me about the project. She wanted to include a piece on sports and the presidency. She knew I was tapped into the sports scene because I had edited many of Matt Christopher’s sports books while at Little, Brown—and more recently, had been ghostwriting them. “In the course of my research for the piece, I learned that many U.S. presidents had ties to the baseball, starting as far back as George Washington. But the story that stuck with me was the one that now appears in the book – the first World Series game to take place after the tragic events of 9/11, and George W. Bush’s throwing of the game’s first pitch.

Johnny Gruelle was an American artist, political cartoonist, children's book author and illustrator (and even songwriter). He is known as the creator of Raggedy Ann and Raggedy Andy. He had such confidence in his design that often he would create the final ink work without first sketching in pencil. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johnny\_G...

Since 1967, Patricia Hall has collected and researched Johnny Gruelle's books, dolls, artwork, and periodical appearances. In 1970 and 1973, her Gruelle book collection won in competitions sponsored by the University of California at Santa Cruz and UCLA. In 1988 Patricia was awarded an NEH Grant-in-Aid to continue her research on Gruelle. In 1990-91, she was Guest Curator for "Magical Hearts," the Indiana State Museum exhibition honoring Johnny Gruelle and Raggedy Ann. In 1994, Patricia was consultant and writer for the 90-minute documentary video, Raggedy Ann & Andy: Johnny Gruelle's Dolls with Heart produced by Sirocco Productions. Patricia's Gruelle/Raggedy collection was featured in the November/December 1990 issue of Americana magazine, and has been exhibited by the Fisher-Price Toy Town Museum (1997) and Target Corporation (1998). Patricia's published articles on Gruelle have appeared in Traces of Indiana and Midwestern History, Table Rock Sentinel, Connecticut, Blue Ridge Country,The Encyclopedia of Indianapolis, and Cloth Doll . She is a regular contributor to "Rags" and "For the Heart's Sake," two national newsletters for Raggedy fans. Patricia currently serves as Historical Consultant for the Johnny Gruelle Raggedy Ann and Andy Museum in Arcola, Illinois. Prior to 1985, Patricia was Education Division Director for the American Association for State & Local History. She holds an M.A. in Folklore & Mythology from UCLA, and a B.S. from the University of California at Santa Cruz and is co-editor of the book Folklife and Museums (AASLH Press, 1987). Patricia Hall lives in San Diego.