Margarita Engle is the Cuban American author of many verse novels, including Wild Dreamers, a Pura Belpré Honor Book that was also long listed for the National Book Award. Wings in the Wild received an International Latino Book Award Gold Medal, and The Surrender Tree received a Newbery Honor. Engle served as the national Young People's Poet Laureate from 2017 to 2019. She was born in Los Angeles but developed a deep attachment to her mother's Cuban homeland during childhood summers with relatives on the island. She lives in Central California. Jacqueline Alcántara has illustrated several widely acclaimed picture books, including the #1 New York Times bestseller Just Shine! by Sonia Sotomayor. She is the author and illustrator of Tíos and Primos, which received two starred reviews. Her books have received numerous starred reviews and been named Best Books of the Year by Kirkus, School Library Journal, Shelf Awareness, and The Horn Book, among others. She lives in Chicago with her family.