Leslie Kimmelman is the author of many popular and prize-winning picture books for children, including the new Bat and Sloth series; Write On, Irving Berlin; Here Come the Helpers!; and The Ghouls’ Guide of Good Grammar. For almost twenty-five years, she was an editor at Sesame Workshop, where she was one of the creators of Julia, who is autistic. She lives in Westchester County, New York, with her family. www.lesliekimmelman.net

• We’re Amazing, 1, 2, 3 (the book which introduced the character of Julia and the entire autism initiative at Sesame Workshop) received a prestigious 2017
  Smithsonian American Ingenuity Award.
• Write On, Irving Berlin!: Charlotte Award picture book winner from the New York State Reading Association
• Everybody Says Shalom: A Sydney Taylor Honor Book (from the Association of Jewish Libraries). Five other titles were named Sydney Taylor Notable Books.
• Hot Dog! Eleanor Roosevelt Throws a Picnic: Eureka Honor Book (California Reading Assoc.); NCSS-CBC Notable Social Studies Trade Book
• Many more starred reviews, CELI finalists, Bank Street Best Children’s Books of the Year

3 Fun Facts

1. I love to swim and get some of my best writing ideas in the pool. I might have been a fish in my last life.
2. I cook a mean homemade pizza. Not to mention making my own ice cream. Yum!
3. I have read books just about anywhere you can think of—the bathtub is one of my favorites! I once broke my ankle by tripping over a curb, as I read a book, licked an ice cream cone, and walked down the sidewalk, all at the same time. Don’t try this at home!