Cynthia Kadohata was born on July 2, 1956. She is a Japanese American author of children's books. Kadohata won the Newbery Medal in 2005 for her title, Kira-Kira. She also won a PEN award in 2006 for Weedflower and in 2013 she won the U.S. National Book Award for The Thing About Luck. Kadohata was born in Chicago, Illinois, and was a high school drop out. She attained a BA in Journalism from the University of Southern California and went on to attend graduate programs at the University of Pittsburgh and Columbia University.
Julia Kuo �splits her time between Cleveland, OH, and Taipei. She�grew up in Los Angeles, CA, and attended Washington University in St. Louis for illustration and marketing. Julia illustrates children's books, concert posters and CD covers, designs stationery and journals, and paints in her free time. One recent gallery show featured paintings of street fashion shots from Face Hunter. Julia's clients include American Greetings, the New York Times , the Home Shopping Network, Little Brown and Co., Capitol Records, Tiny Prints, and Universal Music Group. Her illustrations have been honored in American Illustration, CMYK magazine, and Creative Quarterly. Visit her online at… http://www.juliakuo.com .