Amy Ariel, an attorney and educator, has worked with Jewish youth for many years and earned her B.A. in history from Grinnell College. Born in rural Missouri, she spent her adolescence in Saint Louis and currently resides in Saint Paul, Minnesota. You can visit Amy on Facebook.

Barbara Bietz was born and raised in Southern California. She received both a Bachelor's degree and a Master's degree in education from the University of Arizona. Her work for adults and children has appeared in numerous magazines, including a monthly column for FamiliesOnlineMagazine.com and children's book reviews for Jewish Book World. She lives in Oak Park, California with her husband, two children, and three dogs. You can visit Barbara on her blog at http://barbarabbookblog.blogspot.com or her website at www.barbarabietz.com.

Sheyna Galyan holds a degree in psychology from the University of California at Santa Cruz and a counseling certificate and work in business administration from San Jose State University. She has also done graduate work in elementary education at the University of Minnesota. Sheyna has worked as a counselor, consultant, journalist, and Jewish educator. She lives with her husband and two children in St. Paul, Minnesota, where she is currently at work on the next Rabbi David Cohen novel. You can read Sheyna's blog here, visit her website at sheynagalyan.com, or "like" Sheyna's Facebook page.

JoAnn Pasternack

Martha Rast was born and raised in Minneapolis, MN in spite of her intolerance to cold weather. She was fortunate to attend both The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and the Minneapolis College of Art and Design, where she studied for her BFA. in Painting and Drawing, and her professional certificate in Art Education. Martha has taught art in Chicago, Minneapolis, and St. Paul (public and private) to ages preschool to grandparent, and loves teaching workshops when she has the chance. She continues to work as a fine artist in oil paints, encaustic, and assemblage and shows her work in a variety of Minneapolis and St. Paul venues, and will begin showing in Arizona and the Southwest in summer 2010. She is inspired by her children and the wonder of nature around her.

Sylvia Rouss is the award-winning author and early childhood educator who created the popular Sammy Spider and The Littlest books. Even with her success as an author, Sylvia has not given up what she loves most, teaching. She is currently a preschool teacher in Los Angeles, and says that she is "inspired by the children in my classroom." Sylvia also received awards as an educator and she conducts seminars for parent s and teachers. She is a featured author and lecturer at book fairs throughout the United States and Israel. Visit her on the web at www.sylviarouss.com.

Dori Weinstein grew up in Queens, New York. She is a graduate of Binghamton University and Teachers College, Columbia University. Dori taught in public schools in New York City as well as the Talmud Torah Jewish Day School in St. Paul, Minnesota. She currently teaches Hebrew to preschoolers. She lives in Minneapolis with her husband Gary and their three children, all of whom love water parks (except for Dori!). Visit Dori on her Facebook page , Twitter, on her blog at doriweinstein.blogspot.com, and on the web at yayayoyo.com.

Anita White is an award-winning artist and a native of Minnesota. She received a Bachelor of Fine Arts with honors from the Minneapolis College of Art and Design and has been an elementary school art teacher for over 25 years. She lives in south Minneapolis with her artist husband and her cat, Malcolm, who are never-ending sources of inspiration.