Devine, Eric

Devine, Eric

Eric Devine is also the author of Look Past, Press, Play, Dare Me, and Tap Out. His work has been listed by YALSA for reluctant readers, a Junior Library Guild selection, and twice a “Best in Sports” for Booklist. He is an English teacher and lives with his family in Waterford, NY. You can find him at ericdevine.org, @eric_devine on Twitter, @ericjohndevine on Instagram, and Eric Devine: Author on Facebook.

Booklist Top 10 Sports Book for 2013; 2013 Quick Pick for Reluctant Readers (Tap Out)
Booklist Top 10 Sports Book for 2015; 2015 Junior Library Guild Selection (Press Play)

3 Fun Facts

1. I have three Labrador Retrievers (Yellow, Chocolate, and Black)
2. I am married to my high school sweetheart
3. My grandmother used to read the original Grimm’s Fairy Tales to me as bedtime stories (it explains a lot)

deGroat, Diane

deGroat, Diane

Diane deGroat has been illustrating children’s books since 1972, with over 150 books to her credit. She has also written and illustrated her own stories. Her picture books about Gilbert the opossum include Roses are Pink, Your Feet Really StinkTrick or Treat, Smell My Feet; and Happy Birthday to You, You Belong in a Zoo. Sixteen additional books are in this series, beloved by anyone who appreciates the humorous trials of everyday school and family life. Her latest book,The Adventures of Robo-Kid is a hybrid comic book/picture book and presents a whole new format and art style for Ms. deGroat to share with her readers. She resides in Amherst, MA. website: www.dianedegroat.com blog: www.thestorybehindthestories.com
Awards
– #1 NY Times Bestseller list
– IRA/CBC Children’s Choice
– ABA Pick of the List
– Time Magazine top ten books
– Oppenheim Toy Portfolio- Platinum Award
– Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Award

3 Fun Facts

1. I love to garden and grow weird things like Mexican Sour Gherkins and Ground Cherries. (Google it.)
2. While mulching my garden recently, I discovered a hornets’ nest in my wood chip pile.
3. Old ladies can run pretty fast when chased by a swarm of bees.

Degen, Bruce

Degen, Bruce

Bruce Degen is the co-creator of The Magic School Bus Series with Joanna Cole.

Bruce Degen is also well known for his own books, such as Jamberry, Daddy Is A Doodlebug, and Sailaway Home, I Gotta Draw, and I Said ‘Bed’ which he wrote and illustrated, and for illustrating series such as Commander Toad in Space, written by Jane Yolen, and the Jesse Bear Series written by Nancy White Carlstrom.

Bruce Degen was born in Brooklyn, NY in 1945.  He used to live in Brooklyn, and now he lives in an old farmhouse in Connecticut.  You can take the boy out of Brooklyn, but you can never cure that accent.

3 Fun Facts

1. I was the Skelley Champ of Tapscott Street

2. Skelley is a game played on a court that you draw on the sidewalk with white chalk. The playing pieces are made from used bottle caps by melting old pieces of crayola crayons with a candle to weight the piece and to mark your color.  You shoot the pieces with your fingers and try to get through all the numbers without landing in the box with the skull.

3.  I lie about being the Skelley Champ, the Stoopball Champ, and the Boxball Champ of Tapscott Street.  My cousin, David, was much better than me.  And he was 2 years younger.  And he lived next door.

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