Great Santa Stakeout, The

Born in Kalamazoo, Michigan, undisputed center of the universe, Betsy Bird (nee Elizabeth Ramsey) grew up and promptly left Michigan the moment her legs could propel her southward. She didn't get far. Obtaining a B.A. at Earlham College in Richmond, Indiana (home of recorded jazz and don't let anyone tell you otherwise) she set her sights on Portland, Oregon. When that didn't pan out it was Minneapolis, Minnesota. Then New York, New York. In the midst of all this she somehow managed to get a library degree and a job at New York Public Library, eventually becoming their Youth Media Specialist (a.k.a. the person who bought all the kids' books for Manhattan, Staten Island, and the Bronx). She created the children's literary blog A Fuse #8 Production and schmoozed as no one had ever schmoozed before. The result? A picture book called "Giant Dance Party", a book packed with holiday hijinks called "The Great Santa Stakeout", a behind-the-scenes title for adults co-written with two of her favorite bloggers called "Wild Things: Acts of Mischief in Children's Literature", an anthology of some of the most hilarious women writing for kids today called "Funny Girl: Funniest. Stories. Ever." Betsy Bird is the Collection Development Manager of Evanston, IL. You can follow Betsy on the podcast Story Seeds (for kids) or Fuse 8 n' Kate (for adults that like picture books). Dan Santat is the Caldecott Medal-winning and New York Times bestselling author and illustrator of The Adventures of Beekle: The Unimaginary Friend, Are We There Yet?, and After the Fall as well as the illustrator of many other picture books, including Crankenstein by Samantha Berger. Dan lives in Southern California with his wife, two kids, and various pets. He invites you to visit him online at dantat.com.