Barbara McGrath has written over twenty books for children, including The M&M Brand Counting Book and The Little Green Witch. She lives west of Boston, Massachusetts with her husband, Will, their children, Emily and Louis, their dog, Padi, two cats, Frickels and Casey, two fish, Plain and Peanut, and a ferret named Merlin.Martha Alexander was born in 1920 in Georgia. She attended the Cincinnati Academy of Art, and lived in many places, including New York, Alaska, and Washington state, before settling in Honolulu, Hawaii. Alexander was an artist since childhood, trying her hand at ceramics, doll making, fabric and clothing design, portrait painting, children's murals and paintings,… decorative collages and mosaics, and teaching art to adults and children. She said after attending the Cincinnati Academy of Art, that she did not find her niche in the art world until, at the age of forty-five, she was given her first children's book to illustrate. She knew then that her long search for the right medium of expression had been more than justified. Alexander was an author and an illustrator of children's books that dealt mostly with what it's like to grow up. Martha Alexander wrote and illustrated the Blackboard Bear books and has written and illustrated a host of books for children. She died in 2006.Kenneth L. Swetland (D.Min., Andover Newton Theological School; M.Div., Gordon Divinity School) has been academic dean and professor of pastoral ministries at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary for more than thirty years. He is the author of The Hidden World of the Pastor: Case Studies on Personal Issues of Real Pastors.