Born and raised in East Orange, New Jersey, Kaija Langley has been writing since she fell in love with words at age seven. She knew she was onto something when she wrote her first poem and her grade school classmates thought she’d copied it from a book! A proud alumna of Morgan State University, a Historically Black College and University in Baltimore, Maryland, she received her MFA in fiction from St. Mary’s College of California in 2005. Kaija is the author of picture books A Century for Caroline, When Langston Dances, and Little Library Love. She’s called many places home over the years—New Jersey, Maryland, DC, California, Louisiana—and currently lives, writes, and plays in Massachusetts with her dog Zara and her Beloved.

Jade Orlando was born on an army base in North Carolina and grew up in a tiny Michigan town. After an impassioned childhood spent drawing dragons and cat ladies, she earned a BFA in illustration from SCAD Savannah. Jade worked as a staff children’s apparel artist before switching to freelance full time. She illustrated the board books Who Takes Care of You? and International Women’s Day by Hannah Eliot and the picture books Day Shift, Night Shift by Ariel Vanece and Little Library Love by Kaija Langley. She currently lives in Atlanta, Georgia, with her husband, a greyhound, and four cats (including two naked ones!). When she’s not drawing, she can usually be found curled up with her cats and a really good book.