Born in Toronto in 1947, Ann Love graduated with a Masters in English Literature from the University of Toronto in 1970. #A founder of Pollution Probe at the University of Toronto, she ran the education and information programs there until 1972. She and her husband David then moved to Yukon where they were among the founding members of the Carcross Community Education Center, an alternative, co-educational, residential high school open to students from across Canada as well as Yukon. The school, set between Whitehorse and the wilderness, ran a commercial ventures program to offset fees so that students graduated with high school diplomas or upgraded to trades (bakers, steam operators, forest technicians, reporters, etc.). #Ann and David’s oldest child was born in Whitehorse. They moved back to Ontario in 1975 where two more children joined the family. Ann did editorial work for a medical journal, got her teaching degree (University of Toronto, 1990) and eventually became a teacher librarian with the York Region District School Board. Besides her writing, Ann is a botanical watercolor artist, a middling tennis player, a besotted grandmother and an avid naturalist.~ ~Starting in the late 1980s, Ann teamed up with her sister Jane Drake and, together, they have published nearly 30 books. Their works mostly have an environmental focus based on their shared upbringing and travels, with a preference for the remoter parts of Canada.

Barbara Greenwood is the author of 14 books for children and is working on more. She was born in Toronto, Ontario, where she completed a Bachelor of Arts at the University of Toronto and taught elementary school. Later, while she was at home raising four children, she decided to pursue an interest in writing historical fiction.#This award-winning author has always been fascinated by history. As a child, Greenwood searched her local library for any historical fiction, enthralled by English history in particular. However, she was struck, even then, by the fact that there were so few novels set in Canada’s past. “I felt as if the place in which I lived didn’t exist”, she says. Greenwood is trying to rectify this situation for today’s children. #In 2007 Kids Can Press re-released Greenwood’s acclaimed The Kids Book of Canada in paperback with updated facts from the 2006 census. This title introduces kids to our nation with maps, timelines, fact boxes and information about each province and territory — including regional landscapes, wildlife, profiles of famous Canadians, important events, provincial and territorial coats of arms and much more. The Kids Book of Canada continues to be an important resource that will enrich everyone’s knowledge and appreciation of Canada.

Carlotta Hacker was born in England but was brought to Canada during World War II and went to school here. She later returned to Britain and graduated in history and English from St Andrew’s University in Scotland.#Carlotta wanted to be a writer from her earliest years, but it was not until she was in her 30s that she began to get published. Her first published work was a travel book describing the two years she had spent working her way around the world. On this trip she met the Canadian filmmaker Hector J. (Red) Lemieux, whom she later married. This led to more travels as they wandered the world together making films. It also resulted in the book Africa Take One about their adventures when making films in Africa.#Wherever they went, Carlotta wanted to know how each country and its people came to be the way they were. This meant finding out about their past — their history. She had always been fascinated by history, seeing it not as dates and politics but as stories about people. She couldn’t believe it when she heard people saying Canadian history was dull. “But it’s full of incredible people doing amazing things!” she said.#She was delighted when she was asked to write biographies and histories for young Canadians. One of the books she enjoyed writing most was The Book of Canadians because among the 700 brief biographies she could include villains and some very odd characters as well as heroes and pop stars. The Kids Book of Canadian History was another favorite.#As an editor under her married name Carlotta Lemieux, she has also tried to get others into Canadian history. She was Consulting and Contributing Editor for The Junior Encyclopedia of Canada, writing many of the biographies in it.

Robert Heidbreder was born on the wet, muddy banks of the Mississippi River in 1947 and in 1970 he moved to the wet, misty skies of Vancouver, British Columbia, to pursue his degree in Classical Languages.#In 1975 he became a Canadian citizen, and in the same year he completed his teaching degree at the University of British Columbia. Soon after he started teaching primary children in Vancouver, he began writing because he wanted the children in his class introduced to a liveliness of language that matched their natural bounce, energy, imagination and playfulness. #His first book was Don’t Eat Spiders, published in 1985, and his newest book is Lickety-Split, published in the fall of 2007. #In 2002 he won the Prime Minister’s Award for Teaching Excellence, and in 2005 he retired from teaching after 30 years. His presentations to children in the schools and at festivals help keep the child within him alive, awake, laughing and rhyming away.