You Nest Here with Me

Jane Yolen has been called the Hans Christian Andersen of America and the Aesop of the twentieth century. Her many awards include both the Kerlan Award and the Regina Medal for the body of her work. She lives in Hatfield, Massachusetts, and St. Andrews, Scotland. janeyolen.com.

Heidi Stemple didn’t want to be a writer when she grew up. In fact, after she graduated from college, she became a probation officer in Florida. It wasn’t until she was 28 years old that she gave in and joined the family business, publishing her first short story in a book called Famous Writers and Their Kids Write Spooky Stories. The famous writer was her mom, author Jane Yolen. Since then, she has published almost 50 books and numerous short stories and poems, mostly for children, including her novel in verse The Poetry of Car Mechanics and the picture book, co-written with Jane Yolen, You Nest Here With Me.Heidi lives and writes on a big old farm in Massachusetts. Looking out her office window, she watches a dozen deer, a family of bears, three coyotes, two bobcats, a gray fox, tons of birds, and some very fat groundhogs. Once a year she calls owls for the Audubon Christmas Bird Count.

Melissa Sweet has illustrated nearly 100 books for children. She wrote and illustrated Balloons Over Broadway which garnered many awards including the 2012 Sibert Medal. She also illustrated A River of Words: The Story of William Carlos Williams by Jen Bryant, a 2008 Caldecott Honor book. She lives in Rockport, ME.