Annie Auerbach is a New York Times bestselling author, with over 250 children’s books to her name. She is also a freelance editor, with over 20 years of experience. She lives with her husband and son near Portland, Oregon.

In the third grade, Kyle sold his drawing of a bluebird wearing sunglasses at lunch. His payment? One chocolate chip cookie!

From that first commission on, he knew he wanted to be an illustrator.

It wasn’t until much later (he had almost finished eating his cookie) that he decided to be a writer, too. Growing up in Rockford, Illinois, he spent his days putting doodles and words onto every piece of paper he could find, and maybe even a wall or two.

When he finally ran out of walls, he decided to go and study illustration at Ringling College of Art and Design in Sarasota, Florida. As he continued his classical training in school, Kyle found his passion in telling stories for children and never looked back.

It’s been a long time since third grade, but not much has changed about Kyle. He still writes and draws stories for anyone who likes the quirky, the strange and the not-so-serious. He lives outside of Atlanta with his wife and their rescue dog, Goose.