Aisha Saeed is an award-winning and New York Times bestselling author of books for children. Her middle-grade novel Amal Unbound received multiple starred reviews and was a Global Read Aloud for 2018. Her picture book, Bilal Cooks Daal , received an APALA honor, and she was the co-editor of the critically acclaimed Once Upon an Eid. Aisha is also a founding member of the nonprofit We Need Diverse Books(tm). She lives in Atlanta with her family. Jamilah Thompkins-Bigelow , M.S.Ed, is a Philadelphia-based educator and children's book author.

A curriculum writer and former English teacher, she has educated children and teens in traditional and alternative learning settings for 15 years. As an inaugural AMAL fellow with the Muslim Anti-Racism Collaborative (MuslimARC), she developed foundational curricular frameworks for youth and adult anti-racist programming. Her picture books and short stories, which feature young Black and Muslim protagonists, have been recognized as the best in children's literature by TIME magazine, Read Across America, and NPR. These works include Mommy's Khimar , Once Upon an Eid (anthology contributor), Grounded (coauthor), Your Name Is a Song , Abdul's Story , and Hold Them Close .