Emily Raij has been a book editor for more than 10 years. She specializes in editing professional resources for K-12 educators. She has also written for various publications focusing on parenting topics and children with special needs. Emily is a native of Chicago, where she earned her bachelor's degree in journalism from Northwestern University. She currently lives in Tampa, Florida, with her husband, daughter, and son. Steven Otfinoski has written more than 150 books for young readers. Three of his nonfiction books have been chosen Books for the Teen Age by the New York Public Library. Steve is also a playwright and has his own theater company that brings one-person plays about American history to schools. Steve lives in Connecticut with his wife, who is a teacher. They have two children, two dogs, and a cat. When he's not writing he enjoys swimming, tennis, reading, and singing in his church choir. Andrew Langley is a prolific author of books for children, with a special interest in history and the environment. He has been short-listed for several major awards, most recently with books on natural disasters and Hiroshima. Louise Spilsbury is an experienced author of nonfiction books for young people. Her writing covers a wide range of topics from animals and science to history and social studies. Richard Spilsbury is an experienced author of nonfiction books for young people. He has written about a wide range of topics including science, nature, and history. Jessica Gunderson grew up in the small town of Washburn, North Dakota. She has a bachelor's degree from the University of North Dakota and an MFA in Creative Writing from Minnesota State University, Mankato. She has written more than fifty books for young readers. Her book Ropes of Revolution won the 2008 Moonbeam Award for best graphic novel. She currently lives in Madison, Wisconsin, with her husband and cat. Nadia Higgins is the published author of more than 70 books for kids and young adults. In addition to weird inventions, she has written about explorers, national parks, outer space, pop stars, and zombies. Higgins lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota with her husband and two daughters. Charlotte Guillain worked as a bookseller, an English teacher and an editor before becoming an author. She has written more than 100 books, both fiction and non-fiction. She always wanted to be a writer and her top tip is to read as much as you can. Melanie Waldron worked in children's publishing for many years before becoming a full-time author. She has written many non-fiction books for young people and specializes in science and geography topics. Blake Hoena grew up in central Wisconsin, where he wrote stories about robots conquering the moon and trolls lumbering around the woods behind his parents house. He now lives in St. Paul, Minnesota, with his wife, two kids, a dog, and a couple of cats. Blake continues to make up stories about things like space aliens and superheroes, and he has written more than 70 chapter books and graphic novels for children.