Bonnie Tweedy Shaw was born in Ohio. Her dad was a minister so she moved around quite a bit as a kid. Bonnie lived in both Ohio and Florida before her family picked Pennsylvania for their forever home. Bonnie had eight brothers and sisters and her big family loved to go camping. They’d camp for a entire month every year. There were so many of them that they used many tents. They had a boys’ tent, a girls’ tent and their parents had a pop up camper. Bonnie’s oldest brother got a tiny tent all by himself! Growing up and doing all this camping made Bonnie certain of one thing – life would have been very difficult if her family had lost their home and camping was their way of life instead of something people do on vacation. Bonnie’s lifelong love affair with art began before she can remember. She started drawing as soon as her hand could hold a crayon. Bonnie went to Shippensburg University and received her Bachelors Degree in art. She shifted focus a little for grad school, learning about GeoEnvironmental Studies. In her spare time she taught undergraduates as a grad assistant to the Art Department. Today, Bonnie’s still teaching. Her art classes are popular throughout central Pennsylvania. Bonnie does sculpture as well as illustration. Her water color paintings are magnificent. She likes to paint portraits – of people and of her fury friends. When Bonnie’s not creating art, or home with her husband, Peter, playing with Chumley their cat or Duffy their dog, she can be found at the library. As a librarian, Bonnie doesn’t just illustrate books she works with them.

Pat LaMarche is a journalist, an award winning broadcaster and critically acclaimed author. She spent her adult life working for social change, leading to her run in 2004 as the Green Party’s Vice Presidential Candidate. During the campaign Pat devoted her time to staying in, visiting and discussing homeless situations. Frequently a topic of media attention, Pat was recently featured in “Ms. Magazine” for her efforts to destigmatize poverty. Writing about poverty and homelessness since the last century, her other titles include: Left Out In America: the State of Homelessness in the United States; Daddy, What’s the Middle Class?; Magic Diary, Still Left Out in America, and the Priscilla Series, a four part series about homelessness for kids 8 to 80. Pat’s even written a comic book about a homeless superhero – U.S. Veteran, Invisible. Pat LaMarche, born in Providence, Rhode Island, graduated Boston College and went to grad school at the University of Amsterdam. Pat has two kids and a step kid – Rebecca, John and Eden. She adores them (and their partners – Tim and Kaede). Pat’s also got a couple of magnificent grandchildren, Ronan and Maggie.