Sharon M. Draper was born in Cleveland, Ohio on August 21, 1952. She taught high school English for twenty-five years and received numerous honors including Ohio Teacher of the Year and the NCNW Excellence in Teaching Award. She has also written numerous books including Romiette and Julio, Darkness before Dawn, Double Dutch, and the Ziggy and the Black Dinosaurs series. She is a a five-time winner of the Coretta Scott King Literary Award for Copper Sun, Forged by Fire, Tears of a Tiger, The Battle of Jericho, and November Blues.