The Best Shoes

Gwendolyn Hooks is the author of Tiny Stitches: The Life of Medical Pioneer Vivien Thomas, which received an NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work for Children. Thanks to her Air Force dad, she grew up in Texas and Washington in the United States, and in Italy. After teaching middle school math, Hooks decided to follow her passion and write books for children. Hooks lives in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, with her husband. Please visit her website at www.gwendolynhooks.com.

Michael Ramírez was born in El Centro, California. He studied graphic design and fine arts at San Diego State University and has worked as an illustrator, graphic designer and Art Director for over 30 years. Apart from designing graphics for various national and international companies, Michael’s biggest joy is illustrating books for children and to date has created artwork for more than 100 books for several major publishing companies. While he isn’t illustrating books, Michael also enjoys creating and recording music for children. He lives in San Diego, California with his wife Elaine, their son Rico, and their dog Neena.