Kate Dopirak

Kate Dopirak is a Diet Coke addict and a wanna be runner (okay, fine—she much prefers Zumba but can’t pull off those strappy pants). She has a writer’s crush on Mo Willems and can’t get enough of David Sedaris. The cha-cha-cha’s are her favorite part of ‘Happy Birthday’ and she dances like a loon with her husband and 5-year-old and 3-year-old sons (‘Who Let the Dogs Out?’ really gets their parties started). Oh, and she LOVES to write—even ‘thank you’ notes give her a thrill. Source

Kate's book, "You're My Boo" will be coming from Beach Lane Books!

Learn more about Kate on her website!

Carole Hart

Carole Hart "is an award-winning television and film producer/writer. She began her career in television working with her partner and husband, Bruce Hart, as one of the original writers of Sesame Street, for which she won her first Emmy. She also produced, with Marlo Thomas, Free to Be ... You and Me, the now classic children's album, best-selling book and Peabody Award-winning television special. She and Bruce created and produced Hot Hero Sandwich, an innovative Emmy-winning NBC series for adolescents. Her credits also include a number of movies and docudramas made for television: Sooner or Later, a movie musical that generated a top ten song and a Platinum soundtrack album: Leap of Faith, a groundbreaking docudrama about a woman who brought her cancer into remission through alternative means; and again teamed with Marlo Thomas, a multi-award winning mixed-media documentary for Lifetime Television, Our Heroes, Ourselves." Source

Mrs. Hart explains 'The Three Sisters' tradition: "For many years, we had a country home to complement our life in the city, and I became a passionate organic gardener. That's how I learned about companion planting. When I started working with the Grandmothers, I found out that the practice originated with them, and to their way of thinking, the three plants were the three sisters." Read more about "The Three Sisters" here.

Sesame Street Original Cast Photo Source

Tia Kratter

Tia Kratter joined Pixar studio in 1993 as a digital painter. She subsequently held the shading art director role on A Bug's Life, Monsters, Inc., Cars and Pixar's new film Brave. 

Some of her other credits include:

-Tron

-Aladdin

-Beauty & the Beast

-The Little Mermaid

-Toy Story

-Toy Story 2

-Monsters, Inc

-Cars

-Hunchback of Notre Dame

-Rescuers Down Under

-The Great Mouse Detective

Here Tia discusses the process of finding the perfect skin for one of Pixar's most beloved characters. Pixar

"Made with a little creativity and hope that it inspires others"

Michelle Robinson

Michelle Robinson grew up in Gloucestershire, England. One of her first jobs was writing radio ads. She wrote over 6000 before moving on to writing TV ads and websites. She started writing stories in her spare time. She recently wrote "What To Do If An Elephant Stands On Your Foot" illustrated by Peter H. Reynolds. 

Michelle said, "My dot is made up of snippets from my notebooks - works in progress, doodles, testing out ideas and sounding words out."

Learn more about Michelle on her website!

Emma Walton Hamilton & Julie Andrews

Emma Walton Hamilton is a best-selling children’s book author, editor, educator and arts and literacy advocate. She has co-authored over twenty children’s books with her mother, Julie Andrews, six of which have been on the New York Times best-seller list, including The Very Fairy Princess series (#1 NY Times Bestseller), Julie Andrews’ Collection Of Poems, Songs And Lullabies(illustrated by James McMullan); the Dumpy The Dump Truck series; Simeon’s Gift; The Great American Mousical and THANKS TO YOU – Wisdom From Mother And Child (#1 New York Times Bestseller). Learn more about Emma on her website

Julie Andrews is one of the most recognized figures in the entertainment industry. Her legendary career encompasses the Broadway and London stages, blockbuster Hollywood films, award-winning television shows, multiple album releases and concert tours and the world of children’s publishing. 

Andrews’ began writing books for young readers over thirty-five years ago and her first two novels –MANDY and THE LAST OF THE REALLY GREAT WHANGDOODLES -remain in print and in high demand.  She has also co-authored over 20 picture books, novels and Early Readers with her daughter, Emma Walton Hamilton, including the #1 New York Times best-selling series, THE VERY FAIRY PRINCESS, JULIE ANDREWS’ COLLECTION OF POEMS, SONGS AND LULLABIES (the audio-book for which garnered the mother/daughter team a Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album for Children), the LITTLE BO and DUMPY THE DUMP TRUCK series, the medieval fable SIMEON’S GIFT, the middle grade novels THE GREAT AMERICAN MOUSICALand DRAGON: Hound of Honor, and the #1 New York Times Best-seller THANKS TO YOU: Wisdom from Mother and Child.

Together the best-selling mother-daughter team head-up “The Julie Andrews Collection” publishing program, dedicated to publishing quality children’s books that “nurture the imagination and celebrate a sense of wonder.”  Their books embrace themes of integrity, creativity, nature and the arts.

Learn more about Julie on her website.

Lauren Castillo

Lauren Castillo  is the illustrator of several wonderful picture books including What Happens on Wednesdays by Emily Jenkins and That's Papa's Way by Kate Banks. Her books have received starred reviews from School Library Journal, Publisher's Weekly, Kirkus and Booklist. She lives in Brooklyn, NY. Lauren's "Nana in the City" was a 2015 Caldecott Honor book.

Learn more about her on her website.

 

Lauren was a contributor for "Over The Moon: The Broadway Lullaby Project"