Marilyn Nelson is an award-winning author and poet for adults and children. The recipient of two Newbery Honors, a Michael L. Printz Honor, and many other top accolades, she is also a former poet laureate of Connecticut. Marilyn Nelson lives in New York. Pamela Espeland has authored, co-authored, or edited more than two hundred books on a variety of subjects. She lives in Minneapolis. Halfdan Rasmussen is the late author of THE LADDER. He is highly respected in his native Denmark for both his children's verse and his adult-oriented poems on social issues and human rights. Prior to his death in 2002, he granted Marilyn Nelson express permission to produce English versions of his works. Kevin Hawkes is the illustrator of the New York Times best-selling Library Lion as well as many other award-winning books for children, including WESTLANDIA; SIDEWALK CIRCUS; HANDEL, WHO KNEW WHAT HE LIKED; and ME, ALL ALONE, AT THE END OF THE WORLD. Kevin Hawkes lives in Gorham, Maine.