Cheyanne Young lives in Texas and is the author of several books for teens. When she’s not writing, you can find her sipping coffee and petting dogs.

Susan grew up in a planetarium where her father was the founding director. Her mother was the lady on the children’s tv show Romper Room, and no, she never called Susan’s name either. #Susan met her future writing partner and husband, Mike, at a 45-minute meeting which turned into a 7-hour date, where they bonded over their mutual love of the alphabet. Within weeks, they had begun building a business, a writing partnership (television writing that includes a regional Emmy and now kids’ book writing), and a super-happy life together.#When not writing or producing for television, Susan helps socially responsible brands and people find their purpose and tell stories that change the world. For many years, she was the Executive Director of the Kratt Brothers Brand, helping the creators, producers and stars of such Emmy Award–winning shows as Wild Kratts, Zoboomafoo and Kratts’ Creatures get their message out into the world.#Susan was cast in the Anne of Green Gables film while still in university and went on to work as a professional actor, appearing in Equity stage shows including Agnes of God, Children of a Lesser God and, for some reason, a variety of other shows that had God in the title. She also appeared in such TV shows as Party of Five, The Commish and Highlander.#Her voice is in the Smithsonian, having played a role as a child in an adaptation of Isaac Asimov’s shorty story “The Last Question,” and her work has been selected for inclusion in the Library of Congress. Writing a children’s book is a dream come true, and she is profoundly grateful to everyone at Kids Can Press and to the inimitable, extraordinary and gone-too-soon Sheila Barry for helping to make it happen.~Twitter: @SpikeandToody~Facebook: @SpikeandToody~Instagram: @SpikeToody

Mike is the winner of two regional Emmy Awards for co-creating and writing the TV series Scientastic! He has written TV shows for PBS, Disney XD, BBC, TVO, YTV and CBC, including Franny’s Feet, Pucca, Ranger Rob, the Emmy Award-winning PBS show Zoboomafoo and the Gemini-nominated CBC show SketchCom. He is the co-writer and voice talent of the online animated series, Spike and Toody. He was the recipient of a Harold Greenberg Fund award for his screenplay, The New Adventures of Jason and the Argonauts.#He co-created, story edited and wrote for the TVO kids’ magic series Spellz, winner of the U.S. International Film and Video Festival in Children’s Programming and a Silver Remi at the WorldFest-Houston International Film Festival.#Mike also acts, sings and dances, none of them particularly well but that’s not stopping him! He used to be an on-air humor commentator for CBC News until budget cuts saw him replaced by a tree (true story). Mike was raised in a house where books were treasured and he thinks a chocolate chip cookie dunked in milk is the world’s best one-two food combination. His all-time favorite story is I Had Trouble in Getting to Solla Sollew. Also, when he was little, he had a cat named Pushkin who followed him everywhere.#Fun Mike Fact: He never gives up. In 1984 Mike submitted his first book to Kids Can Press and received his first-ever rejection letter … There would be many more to come.#I Got You A Present! is his first published kids’ book.~Twitter: @SpikeandToody~Facebook: @SpikeandToody~Instagram: @SpikeToody

Candace Ryan is the author of six picture books for children: Red Light, Green Lion; Ribbit Rabbit; Moo Hoo; Ewe and Aye; Zoo Zoom!; and Animal House. She has always been fascinated by words and images and the alchemy of putting them together. Like putting rocks in a tumbler, she is more than happy to spend her days having words churn and turn in her brain until they come out smooth and polished, ready to find their way into a published book. Despite her love for words, Candace aspires to one day take on the ultimate challenge of writing a wordless picture book. Until then, though, she will always prefer using as few words as possible so that the art has enough room to tell its share of the story.#In her free time, Candace loves riding her bicycle, taking long walks, and gardening. She is excited to be supporting the monarch butterfly’s full life cycle with a milkweed plant (Asclepias tuberosa) in her front yard. Candace loves rescuing odd bits of metal and broken bricks that have been abandoned in the washes of the Los Angeles River. She incorporates these treasured materials into various landscaping projects around her home. One of her proudest finds, the metallic remains of a refrigerator burned in a wildfire, is now an outdoor planter with a shimmering patina. Candace is also known to be an avid rock collector. In many ways, her garden could also be viewed as one giant rock zoo. Candace is a passionate basketball fan and even finds pleasure in following developments during the offseason. She lives with her amazing husband, wonderful son, three dogs, a cat and a tortoise in Los Angeles.

Julie Abery is a children’s book author and former preschool teacher, who shaped her career by reading picture books to children from around the world. Storytime was her favorite part of the day, when she and her wide-eyed students stepped into the magical world of books. Songs and picture books were her friends, and her favorite method of engaging young minds, helping her deliver language learning with rhyme, rhythm and repetition.#Originally from England, she now calls Switzerland home. She lives in a pink house, at the bottom of a very steep hill, with a little red story shed in her garden. Spring is her favorite season to write there, as it is filled with the sounds of cowbells and birdsong.#With a passion for rhyme and nonfiction, Julie scatters her own little bit of magic into the world through books that inspire imagination, wonder and understanding.~Twitter: @juliedawnabery~Instagram: @juliedawnabery