Laura Malone Elliott is the author of the award-winning Hunter's Best Friend at School , Hunter's Big Sister , Hunter & Stripe and the Soccer Showdown , and the first story about Sam and Mary Ann, A String of Hearts , also illustrated by Lynn Munsinger. As L. M. Elliott, she has written books for older readers, including the highly praised Under a War-Torn Sky ; its sequel, A Troubled Peace ; Flying South ; Annie, Between the States ; and Give Me Liberty . She lives in Virginia with her husband and their two children.