Bruel, Nick

Bruel, Nick

Nick Bruel is the creator of the New York Times Bestselling “Bad Kitty” series. He lives in Pleasantville, NY with his wife Carina, their son Carson, their dog Skyler, and their sometimes-good-sometimes-bad cats Rose and Noodles. www.nickbruelbooks.com

Awards

Bad Kitty Meets The Baby
2012 Third and Fourth Grade Book of the Year—Children’s Book Council
Bad Kitty For President
2013 Third and Fourth Grade Book of the Year—Children’s Book Council

3 Fun Facts

1. Uncle Murray is based on my own real life Uncle Murray.
2. Toby in “Bad Kitty: Camp Daze” is based on my real life dog named Toby.
3. Baby is based on my real life daughter named Izzy from when she was a baby. She’s 11 years old now.

Bildner, Phil

Bildner, Phil

Phil Bildner is the New York Times bestselling author of numerous books for kids. His latest book is the 2021 NCTE Charlotte Huck Award Honor-winning middle grade novel, A High Five for Glenn Burke. He is the author of many children’s picture books including the Margaret Wise Brown Prize winning Marvelous Cornelius, the Texas Bluebonnet Award winning Shoeless Joe & Black Betsy, Martina & Chrissie, Twenty-One Elephants, and The Soccer Fence. Phil is also the author of A Whole New Ballgame, Rookie of the Year, Tournament of Champions, and Most Valuable Players in the critically acclaimed middle grade Rip & Red series. www.philbildner.com

New York Times Bestseller (Sluggers series)
Margaret Wise Brown Prize (Marvelous Cornelius)
Texas Bluebonnet Award (Shoeless Joe & Black Betsy)

3 Fun Facts

1. I’ve been to the World Series, the Super Bowl, and the NBA Finals.
2. I’ve been bitten by a lion.
3. I have a pitbull rescue dog named Katniss. We call her Kat. So I have a dog named Kat.

Bloom, Suzanne

Bloom, Suzanne

My books have taken me around the world: from Iowa to Ireland, from Texas to Italy, from Pennsylvania to the Pearl River Delta in China.

I grew up in Fresh Meadows NY, graduated from Cooper Union, made my way to Buffalo and from there to our home-made house on a scrubby hillside in upstate NY. For years my husband and I made wooden toys, until an idea for a book seeped through the sawdust.

All my studies, all my jobs (except for racking clothes at Macy’s) all my grands (3) have led to the making of twenty two friend-filled books. www.suzannebloom.com

Awards:
A Splendid Friend, indeed
– Theodor Seuss Geisel Honor
– ALA Notable
– PA One Book for Every Young Child
– Texas 2×2
A Mighty Fine Time Machine
– Texas 2×2
Alone Together
– Bank Street College of Education, Best Children’s Books of the Year
The Bus for Us
– PA One book for Every Young Child Bunny Braves The Day
Bunny Braves the Day
– Bank Street College of Education, Best Children’s Books of the Year

3 Fun Facts

1. My friends, family, dogs and cats all show up in my books along with my imaginary friends.
2. I am left-handed but use scissors right-handed.
3. My favorite color can be found on many of my book covers.

Bennett, Artie

Bennett, Artie

Artie Bennett has always dreamed of being a published author. He’s the author of an inspiring, humorous biography of a hapless, though beloved, racehorse, The True Story of Zippy Chippy: The Little Horse That Couldn’t. He’s also the author of several award-winning hilarious rhyming picture books: his classic The Butt Book, his “number two” picture book Poopendous!, Peter Panda Melts Down!, the explosively funny Belches, Burps, and Farts—Oh My!, and What’s Afoot! Your Complete, Offbeat Guide to Feet. He lives in Brooklyn, New York. HuffPost says: “It appears there is no topic Mr. Bennett can’t make funny and educational.” http://www.artiebennett.com/

Awards

The True Story of Zippy Chippy: The Little Horse That Couldn’t: The Magnolia Book Award (Mississippi),A CCBC Choice, A Horse Lover’s Guide to Staying Inside Children’s Book from America’s Best Racing, A Picture-Book Biography You Need to Know About Citation from Imagination Soup, A Gift Guide Great Book for the Book Lover in Your Life from The Bookworm Sez.

Belches, Burps and Farts—Oh My! A World Science Festival Selection, A Kentucky Bluegrass Award Nominee for Informational Text, A Pragmatic Mom Best Nonfiction Book for Kids, A HuffPost (One of) 26 Entertaining and Educational Books for Back-to-School Season.

Poopendous! A Bright Horizons Notable Book in the Humorous Books for Children Category, A Book Vine for Children Growing Green Book

The Butt Book  Reuben Award Winner for Book Illustration, Best Feel-Good Children’s Book (HuffPost), A New York State Assembly/NYPL Suggested Reading Title, A Starred Review from the Horn Book Guide

3 Fun Facts

1. When I was a boy, I had a metal detector and would spend my days digging up city parks (and neighbors’ yards!), looking for pirates’ gold.
2. I swim every weekday morning and get some of my best book ideas while doing the crawl.
3. I have a serious, three-scoop-a-day ice cream habit, but I’m trying to break it.

Baskin, Nora Raleigh

Baskin, Nora Raleigh

Nora Raleigh Baskin, a 2001 Publisher’s Weekly FLYING START, is the author of thirteen novels for young adults and a contributor to several short story collections. Her personal narrative essays have appeared in WRITER MAGAZINE, Boston Globe Sunday Magazine, and NCTE Voices From the Middle.  Her books have won several awards, including the 2010 American Library Association Schneider Family Book Award for Anything But Typical (S&S), and in 2016, an International Literacy Association Notable Books for a Global Society for Ruby on the Outside (S&S). Ms. Baskin has taught creative writing classes and workshops around the country for over twenty years in such places as Gotham Writers Workshop, Fairfield Co. Writers Studio, Manhattanville College, and S.U.N.Y Purchase.  Her newest middle-grade novel Finding Joy, a collaborative two-voice project will be published Spring, 2020 (Knopf).  www.norabaskin.com

3 Fun Facts

1. Nora has recently become addicted to elaborate wooden jig saw puzzles.
2. She works with incarcerated moms, and their children on the outside, bringing them together through books.
3. Loves her dog Eli more than she could ever describe.

Berne, Jennifer

Berne, Jennifer

Jennifer Berne is the award-winning author of ON A BEAM OF LIGHT: A Story of Albert Einstein and CALVIN CAN’T FLY: The Story of a BookwormBirdie. She grew up in New York City where she was active in dance and theater as a child. She studied art and design, worked for Andy Warhol at “The Factory.” After a successful career in advertising, Jennifer began writing for Nick Jr. Magazine and writing books about the subjects she loves most – our amazing universe and the people who discover its secrets. She lives in a house she designed in the rolling hills of Columbia County, NY. www.jenniferberne.com

ON A BEAM OF LIGHT AWARDS:
New York Times – Editors’ Choice
Best Children’s Books of the Year – Kirkus Reviews
NPR – 2013’s Great Reads
Horn Book – Best Non-Fiction Books of 2013
Eric Carle Museum “Best of the Best” 2014
Bank Street College of Education – 2014 Best Books of the Year

3 Fun Facts

1. I lived on a sailboat for 2 years, with my husband and our cat.
2. I love to eat pomegranates.
3. I write my books on paper first. I only use a computer for editing.

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