Caron Levis is the author of several picture books, including Feathers Together ; This Way, Charlie ; and Ida, Always , all illustrated by Charles Santoso; Stop That Yawn! , illustrated by LeUyen Pham; and Mama's Work Shoes , illustrated by Vanessa Brantley-Newton. She is a professor and advisor for the New School's Writing for Children/YA MFA program and a licensed social worker. Levis uses drama and writing to explore books, feelings, and imagination with kids through her author workshops. She lives in Brooklyn. Vanessa Brantley-Newton is a self-taught illustrator, doll maker, and crafter who studied fashion illustration at FIT and children's book illustration at the School of Visual Arts in New York. She is the author and illustrator of Grandma's Purse , Just Like Me , and Becoming Vanessa , and has illustrated numerous children's books, including the New York Times bestsellers The King of Kindergarten and The Queen of Kindergarten by Derrick Barnes and Sewing Stories by Barbara Herkert. Vanessa currently makes her nest in Charlotte, North Carolina, with her husband, daughter, and a very rambunctious cat named Stripes.