When author Caren Stelson first heard Sachiko Yasui speak, she knew she needed to share her story with young people. She eventually made five trips to Japan to interview Sachiko in Nagasaki and conduct additional research.

Caren's book for middle grade readers, Sachiko: A Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Survivor's Story, was longlisted for a National Book Award and received a Sibert Honor Award, the Jane Addams Children's Book Award, and the Flora Stieglitz Straus Award.

Caren and her husband Kim live in Minneapolis. They have two adult children and one grandson, Reid, who, like the readers of A Bowl Full of Peace, will be our next generation of peacemakers.

Selina Alko was born in Vancouver, British Colombia. Growing up in a house with a Turkish father who spoke seven languages exposed Selina to many different sounds from a young age.

Her father also taught her how to paint and gave her a starter course in self-expression. Her mother's involvement in the family's century-old metal recycling business yielded Alko's affinity for collage and mixing media ("trash art") in her work today. Selina's picture books include the highly acclaimed B is for Brooklyn.

Recently, Selina has embarked on a new chapter in her career: collaborated with her husband, the award-winning illustrator Sean Qualls, Selina wrote The Case for Loving: The Fight for Interracial Marriage which she co-illustrated with Sean.

Their second illustrated book, Two Friends: Susan B. Anthony and Fredrick Douglass (by Dean Robbins) came out in January 2016.