Children's writer Bill Martin, Jr. was born and raised in Hiawatha, Kansas. Ironically, the future early childhood educator had difficulty reading until he taught himself, before graduating with a teaching certificate from Emporia State University. After graduation, he taught high school drama and journalism in Kansas. He served in the Army Air Force as a newspaper editor during World War II. He wrote his first book, The Little Squeegy Bug, for his brother, Bernard, an artist, to illustrate while recuperating from war wounds. It was published in 1945 and the brothers would go on to collaborate on 10 more books by 1955. He earned a master's degree and doctorate in early childhood education… from Northwestern University and became principal of an elementary school in Evanston, Ill., where he developed innovative reading programs. In 1962 Martin moved to New York City to become editor of the school division of Holt, Rhinehart and Winston where he developed the literature-based reading programs Sounds of Language and The Instant Readers. Martin returned to full-time writing in 1972 and ended up writing over three hundred children's books during his career. His titles include; Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What do You See?, Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What do you Hear?, The Ghost-Eye Tree, Barn Dance, and Chicka, Chicka, Boom, Boom. He died on August 11, 2004 at the age of 88.
John Archambault is a poet, journalist, and storyteller who worked with Bill Martin Jr on several projects. He lives in Idyllwild, California.
Lois Ehlert was born November 9, 1934, in Beaver Dam, Wisconsin. She is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, and the Layton School of Art. She has also worked as an art teacher, freelance illustrator, and designer. Her work as an author and an illustrator has appeared in countless publications and has received numerous awards and honors. In addition to creating books, Ehlert has produced toys, games, clothes for children, posters, brochures, catalogs, and banners. She has received the Caldecott Honor Book, 1989, for Color Zoo, a Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year for Snowballs, the Booklist Editors' Choice for Cuckoo/Cuc�: A Mexican Folktale/Un Cuento Folkl�rico… Mexicano, the IRA Teachers' Choice and NCTE Notable Children's Trade Book in the Language Arts for Feathers for Lunch, the American Library Association Notable Children's Book and Boston Globe-Horn Book Honor Award for Chicka Chicka Boom Boom.
Known as a pioneer in soul music, Ray Charles was born in Albany, Georgia. As a child, Charles developed glaucoma, an eye disorder that left him blind. He began playing the piano at the age of 3. He learned to compose and arrange music in Braille and to play the piano, clarinet, alto saxophone, organ, and trumpet at the St. Augustine School for Deaf and Blind Children in St. Augustine, Florida. By the time he was in his twenties, Charles had established his own style and original sound. He is credited with almost single-handedly creating soul music by fusing the intensity, inflection, and structures of gospel music, the subject matter of blues, and the horn riffs of jazz. Throughout the… 1980s and 1990s, Charles toured and played to large audiences in the United States and abroad. In 1988 he received the lifetime achievement award from the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. He has also won 12 Grammy awards. "Georgia on My Mind" and "I Can't Stop Loving You" are among his classics. In addition, Charles has recorded television commercials, many of which he produced himself. His Diet Pepsi advertisement was rated the most memorable commercial of 1991. Charles has also appeared on several television shows, including "Saturday Night Live," "Who's the Boss," and "St. Elsewhere."