Something Beautiful

Sharon Dennis Wyeth is a children’s author, poet, and memoirist with over fifty books published. Among her titles are the classic Something Beautiful, a Parents Magazine Best Book of the Year; Always My Dad, a Reading Rainbow Book; the American Girl book Evette: The River and Me, recipient of the 2021 Good Housekeeping Best Toy Award; and the Step Into Reading leveled reader Juneteenth: Our Day of Freedom. Wyeth’s memoir piece “I’m a Dancer” was featured in the award-winning anthology The Talk: Conversations About Race, Love & Truth.Wyeth is a recipient of the Stephen Crane Literary Award, an NAACP Education Award, a Mid-Atlantic Arts Award, and a Cave Canem Fellowship for African American poets. Additional book honors include citations from the Children’s Book Council, LAMDA Literary Awards, and the New York Public Library. Wyeth is a cum laude graduate of Harvard University, with an MFA in creative writing and memoir from Hunter College, where she received the prestigious Shuster Award. She is a visiting Associate Professor of creative writing in the Children’s Literature Department at Hollins University. Learn more about her work at sharondenniswyeth.com.

Chris K. Soentpiet (pronounced soon-pete) was born in South Korea, and moved to Hawaii when he was eight years old. He is a graduate of Pratt Institute in New York City. He was the recipient of the 1996 International Reading Award for his illustrations for More Than Anything Else. He was also awarded the 1996 gold medal at the Society of Illustrators Original Art Show, for Peacebound Trains. In his spare time, Mr. Soentpiet promotes the love of children’s literature and the arts by speaking at schools across the country. Learn more about his work at chrissoentpiet.com and follow him on Instagram at @chrissoentpiet.