Gwendolyn Hooks has written many books including If You Were A Kid During the Civil Rights Movement, The Cat Food Mystery, and Tiny Stitches: The Life of Medical Pioneer Vivien Thomas, for which she received the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Children's Literature. She is the recipient of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators Crystal Kite Award and her book Block Party is a Junior Library Guide selection. Gwendolyn resides in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.