Martha Seif Simpson is an author and children’s librarian, currently in her twenty-fourth year as head of children’s services at the Stratford Library in Stratford, CT. She is the author of five professional books for teachers and librarians as well as two children’s books: What NOT to Give Your Mom on Mother’s Day and The Dreidel that Wouldn’t Spin: A Toyshop Tale of Hanukkah. Martha enjoyed celebrating Hanukkah and Purim with her parents and brother while growing up, and sharing these customs with her own children and husband. She lives in Hamden, CT.
Durga Yael Bernhard is the illustrator, designer, and author of numerous award-winning children’s books. She brings a variety of influences to her work, including African art, studies in Eastern and Western religion, and a love of nature that fills her daily life in the Catskill Mountains of NY where she makes her home. Ms. Bernhard is also a fine-art painter, an arts-in-ed teacher, and a bnei mitzvah tutor. Her titles include Never Say a Mean Word Again and The Dreidel That Wouldn’t Spin.