Presenters

Jack Gantos has written books for people of all ages, from picture books and middle-grade fiction to novels for young adults and adults. His works include Hole in My Life, a memoir that won the Michael L. Printz and Robert F. Sibert honors; Joey Pigza Swallowed the Key, a National Book Award Finalist; and Joey Pigza Loses Control, a Newbery Honor book. His latest, Dead End in Norvelt, just won the prestigious Newbery medal for 2012. Jack was born in Mount Pleasant, Pennsylvania, and grew up in the nearby town of Norvelt. He remembers playing a lot of “pass the chalk” in Mrs. Neiderheizer’s first-grade class. He was in the Bluebird reading group, which he later found out, was for slow readers. To this day he’d rather be called a Bluebird than a slow reader. Mr. Gantos is known nationally for his educational creative writing and literature presentations to students and teachers. Visit him at www.jackgantos.com.

Amy Krouse Rosenthal’s award-winning children’s books “radiate fun the way tulips radiate spring: they are elegant and spirit-lifting.” Her 16 books for children include Little Pea, Spoon, The Wonder Book, Cookies: Bite-Size Life Lessons, and Duck! Rabbit!. In real life, Amy lives with her family in Chicago. Visit her at www.whoisamy.com.

Jeanette Ingold’s Paper Daughter reaches back to Exclusion Era laws to tell a story of family connections that span generations. Set in a newsroom, it revisits where she began her own writing career. Her Christopher Award winning Hitch, about the Civilian Conservation Corps, a Society of School Librarians International Best Book, was named to the prestigious We the People Books Shelf, a National Endowment for the Humanities and American Library Association project that selects books that embody themes important to our country’s heritage. Jeantte’s several other young adult novels include The Big Run, a Western Writers of American Spur award winner, Mountain Solo, and The Window, an ALA Best Book for Young Adults and an International Reading Association Young Adults’ Choice. Jeanette was born in New York. She and her husband, Kurt, live in the mountains of western Montana. Visit her at www.jeanetteingold.com.

Tom Lichtenheld is a children’s book author and illustrator. He doodled his way through school, then worked as a sign painter, set designer, printer and advertising art director. After a successful career in advertising, he gradually made the switch to creating children’s books. His first book, Everything I Know About Pirates, was published by Simon & Schuster in 2000 and featured in Newsweek as one of the best books of the year. His 2011 book Goodnight, Goodnight Construction Site, written by Sherri Rinker, was a New York Times no. 1 best seller. Tom’s books are consistently praised for their humor, expressive characters, and rich, sometimes hidden, detail. He’s known for creating books that appeal to children and adults alike, and his wide portfolio of books offers something for every age. Visit him at www.tomlichtenheld.com/childrens_books.