Beginning her career as a teacher in her native state of Texas, Gwendolyn Battle-Lavert has also worked as an assistant school principal and a reading specialist. With this vast experience, it is no surprise that she has also found a second career as a children's book author. In books that include Off to School, The Shaking Bag, and Papa's Mark, Battle-Lavert portrays young lives steeped in African-American culture and history. O"Every family has a recorder," Battle-Lavert once told Something about the Author. "I happen to be the one for my family. Hearing my Mama tell about her life has strengthened me. Her stories have given me the self-esteem, pride, and love that tells me who I am and sustains me as I strive to be the best I can be." Born in 1951, Battle-Lavert eventually gained her teacher's certification, and began her long career as an educator in 1974.

Two decades later she embarked on her second career as a children's book author with The Barber's Cutting Edge, published in 1994.Noting that writing is not an easy job, Battle-Lavert once commented: "The more I read, the better my writing becomes. I enter my first draft into the computer, then go back and rework the words I wrote days, weeks, even months before. The stories become better, and better, and better." "I want students to know that reading opens up the world to them," she added. "It's a journey that will last them a lifetime."She lives in Indiana.