Our Authors and Illustrators
Sheila and Letty Sustrin - Author - www.SustrinBooks.com
Born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, Sheila and Letty Sustrin decided at age 5 that they would be elementary school teachers when they grew up. For 38 years, they taught side by side in The Brentwood, NY school district. They taught kindergarten and first grade. After retiring in 1998, they found new careers as authors and began writing The Teacher Who Would Not Retire series. In Fall, 2012, they will release the fourth title in this series, The Teacher Who Would Not Retire Becomes a Movie Star. The Sustrins believe that humor is important in the lives of children. Their series and its main character, Mrs. Belle, have been embraced by readers of all ages for the past 10 years!
Thomas H. Bone' III - Animator-Cartoonist-Designer - www.thomasbone.com
Thomas was responsible for bringing the character of PeeWee Pipes to life. His use of rich color and lively
illustrations jump off the pages. Thomas has the ability to combine real-life attributes with a cartoonist style to
create unique, lovable characters. His consistency and ability to visualize the character made him the right choice
for our first book. Additionally, Thomas created our logo and the character for The Teacher Who Would Not Retire series .
LP Chase - Author - www.LPChaseBooks.com
Widely known for her middle grade mystery series, beginning with Elliot Stone and the Mystery of the Alien Mom, LP Chase has gone on to publish several other works of fiction including Elliot Stone and the Mystery of the Backyard Treasure, Elliot Stone and the Mystery of the Summer Vacation Sea Monster, Silly Spoon, and Today is Tuesday. L.P. Chase enjoys presenting programs to elementary school students. In addition to her expertise in writing children's books and middle grade novels, Chase has a master's degree in social work. She enjoys spending time with her husband and three children, exercising, reading, and baking. Chase resides with her family in Smithtown, New York.
Carl DiRocco - Illustrator - www.CarlDiRocco.com
Carl DiRocco is a graduate of the New England School of Art & Design. He is "an art director by day, and illustrator by night, and a father of three around the clock." In addition to his playful, whimsical illustrations in Elliot Stone and the Mystery of the Summer Vacation Sea Monster, Carl also illustrated Dear Big, Mean, Ugly Monster (a Minnesota Humanities Book Award Finalist), Madison's Patriotic Project, Madison and the Two Wheeler, and Our Principal Promised to Kiss a Pig (a Children's Choice 2005 Selection). Carl lives in Reading, Massachusetts with his wife and three sons.
Karen Duncan - Author - www.thegoodfunbook.com
Karen Duncan made backyard bird houses and homemade ice cream when she was growing up in Tasmania. A former school teacher and athletic director at the University of Chicago Laboratory Schools, Karen follows education issues closely as the wife of U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan. She lives in Virginia with her husband and two children, a cat, and lots of sports equipment.
Kate Hannigan Issa - Author - www.thegoodfunbook.com
Kate Hannigan Issa helped sew groovy blue-jeans bags with her mom when she was growing up in Oklahoma. A professional editor and writer, Kate works on children's fiction and nonfiction when she isn't holding lemonade stands with her three children and husband in Chicago.
Anthony Alex LeTourneau - Illustrator/Artist - www.anthonyletourneau.com
Anthony Alex Letourneau brought Zol to life in our middle grade novel, In The Shadow Of The Mammoth.; His illustrations add clarity and depth to the character, and will help or readers to see the story as they read it. Tony is also responsible for the wonderfully illustrated The Good Fun Book. Tony enjoys illustrating in a way that brings words and ideas to life. He spends his days in his studio painting what he loves most--people, and playing with his sons and their black lab, Jetta. He has been a professional artist for over 13 years. Anthony, his wife, Michelle, and their three sons live on a hobby farm in Hinckley, Minnesota.
Heather Hill Worthington - Author - www.heatherworthington.com
Heather, a native Long Islander, grew up in Huntington, New York and now lives with her husband and two children on Long Island's North Fork. Besides being a writer, she has worked as a teacher and journalist. She received her B.A. In History from the University of New Hampshire and her M.S. in Special Education from Adelphi University in Garden City, New York. When not on Long Island, she sometimes can be found hiking, paddling or skiing in Maine -- the place her Labrador Retriever likes traveling to most. This is her first children's book.
Bill Farnsworth - Illustrator/Artist - www.billfarnsworth.com
Is a 1980 graduate of The Ringling School of Art and Design, Bill has spent the last twenty-eight years creating paintings for magazines, advertisements, children's books, and fine art commissions of portraits and landscapes. Born in Norwalk Connecticut, Bill spent most of his life in New Milford, Connecticut painting landscapes of the rural area, while supporting himself and his family with his growing illustration career.
Farnsworth's paintings have appeared in many national shows and private collections throughout the United States. Some of his work for The United States Air force hangs in the Pentagon today. A nationally known illustrator, Bill has illustrated more than fifty books for children, including The Kaya Series for American Girl. His illustrations have been part of The Society of Illustrators Annual Show and The Oil Painters of America National Show.
Farnsworth's children’s books have received numerous awards, including the Teachers' Choice Award, the 2005 Patricia Gallagher Award, the 2007 Volunteer State Book Award, and starred reviews in Publishers Weekly. His Kaya series was a New York Times bestseller. Farnsworth was featured on the PBS show, “Gulf Coast Journal,” hosted by Jack Perkins. “My goal with my work is to paint what I love and convey that honestly so the viewer can feel that as well.” Bill currently lives in Venice, Florida with his wife, Debbie, and daughters, Allison and Caitlin.
Lisa Victoria - Illustrator/Artist - www.lisavictoria.net
Lisa holds an MFA in illustration from the Academy of Art College in San Francisco. Her work has been displayed at the University of California Davis, Academy of Art College and the Whittier Art Gallery. Lisa has been working as a professional freelance artist since 1999. She illustrated the award winning A Simple Brown Leaf children's book in 2004 and has several new children's book projects underway. Lisa is a child at heart, which is exemplified in her illustrations of whimsy that are enjoyed by both young and old. Her fantasy paintings intertwine flowers and nature with fairies and dragons.
patricianikolinaclark.com
Patricia Nikolina Clark - Author/Amateur archaeologist
has a passion for prehistory. It stems from a longing to go back to a simpler time as well as a longing to know what our ancient ancestors knew about living close to nature. But there are no time machines in this life, except in our minds. Clark imagined what daily life must have been like for the hunters and gatherers of the Ice Age, based on archaeological evidence and current research. She had the good fortune to attend an excavation of Clovis artifacts near her home in Washington State, where she held a stone point once held by a Clovis hunter 12,000 years ago. After that experience, the story idea came to her for In the Shadow of the Mammoth. “There is great power in artifacts,” says Clark.
Ms. Clark's short stories and articles have appeared in children's magazines for many years. This is her first novel for middle-grade readers.
Robert Casilla - Illustrator - www.RobertCasilla.com
Robert is an artist/illustrator of Hispanic background, and has illustrated many multicultural children's books such as The Little Painter of Sabana Grande, Jalapeno Bagels, The Legend of Mexicatl, and First Day in Grapes (which won the Pura Belpre Honor Award). He has also illustrated a number of biographies, including ones about Martin Luther King, Jr., John F. Kennedy, Eleanor Roosevelt, Rosa Parks, Jackie Robinson, Jesse Owens and Simon Bolivar. Robert visits schools to talk about the visual journey a story takes him through to come up with the illustrations for his books. He also teaches art to young gifted students. Robert lives and works from his home in New Fairfield, Connecticut, which he shares with his wife, two children, three cats, and a feisty shih tzu dog.
Other Businesses and Friends
Larry Bird: - NBA Legend - www.larrybird.com
Thank you, Larry Bird, for being so helpful and cooperative with the development and publication of our Delaware Diamond award-winning book, Larry Bird: The Boy From French Lick.
Regent Publishing Services - Printer -
specializes in high quality overseas book printing and manufacturing. Regent provides a very high quality products at a reasonable cost. They have printed our last several books.
Friesens Book Division - Printer - www.friesens.com
From their website "Friesens was founded in 1907 by Mr. D. W. Friesen. Throughout his business dealings, he treated his customers and staff in a fair and honorable way. The firm was started so that the Friesen family could earn their livelihood in Altona, as well as serve the community. Craftsmanship was his basic concern, not as an end unto itself, but rather as an extension of his faith. D.W. Friesen adhered to strong Christian principles that encouraged a life of service to others. His products and business dealings reflected these beliefs and established Friesen's reputation for fairness, honesty and integrity."
D. W. Friesens felt these principles were the basis for every successful business, and the ones we at Friesens hope to maintain in the company today.
Seedlings Braille Books For Children: is a 501(c)3 non-profit, tax-exempt organization dedicated to increasing the opportunity for literacy by providing high quality, low cost braille books for children. Seedlings produced our book, Hanni and Beth: Safe & Sound in Braille.
Locks of Love: is a public non-profit organization that provides hairpieces to financially disadvantaged children in the United States and Canada under age 21 suffering from long-term medical hair loss from any diagnosis.
Baker & Taylor - Our wholesaler - www.btol.com
From their website: "Baker & Taylor is a leading full-line distributor of books, videos and music products to
Internet and traditional retailers and to library customers. We also provide our customers with value-added
proprietary data products and customized management and outsourcing services. We have been in business over
170 years and have developed long-term relationships with our customers and with the major book publishers,
movie studios and record labels."
Follett Library Resources - Our wholesaler - www.flr.follett.com
From their website: "Follett Library Resources, one of the Follett Corporation companies, has been providing educational materials to school libraries since 1940. At Follett we are committed to leading our industry in customer satisfaction. Every Follett employee - from your local account manager, to your special customer care representative, to the warehouse employee who fills your order - shares this common goal."