Lourdes Heuer holds an MFA in Writing from the Vermont College of Fine Arts and is an associate professor of English at Broward College in South Florida. She is the author of the picture book On This Airplane, illustrated by Sara Palacios, and Esme’s Birthday Conga Line, illustrated by Marissa Valdez. Lourdes is the child of Cuban refugees who fled to Spain in 1969 and lived above a city toy store until she was eight, when she moved to the United States. She now lives in Florida with her family. Zara González Hoang is a children’s author and illustrator. She’s the creator of the picture book A New Kind of Wild and the illustrator of the picture books Thread of Love by Kabir Sehgal and Surishtha Sehgal and Mi Casa Is My Home by Laurenne Sala. Zara González Hoang lives with her family outside of Washington, DC.