Joyce Carol Thomas is an internationally renowned author who received the National Book Award for her first novel,
Marked By Fire, and a Coretta Scott King Honor for
The Blacker the Berry and for her first picture book,
Brown Honey in Broomwheat Tea. Her picture book
I Have Heard of a Land received a Coretta Scott King Honor and an IRA/CBC Teachers' Choice Award and was an ALA Notable Book. Her other titles include
The Gospel Cinderella,
Crowning Glory,
Gingerbread Days, and
A Gathering of Flowers. Ms. Thomas lives in Berkeley, California.
Floyd Cooper received a Coretta Scott King Award for his illustrations in The Blacker the Berry and a Coretta Scott King Honor for Brown Honey in Broomwheat Tea and I Have Heard of a Land. Born and raised in Tulsa, Oklahoma, Mr. Cooper received a degree in fine arts from the University of Oklahoma and, after graduating, worked as an artist for a major greeting card company. His many beloved books form a lasting legacy.