ABOUT THE AUTHOR Newspaper columnist, retired teacher, counselor and psychologist, Janet is the mother of one child. She is from Illinois and now lives next to a lake on the beautiful Cumberland Plateau in Tennessee. The majority of Janet's professional life has been in the educational arena. She currently focuses on writing children's books and a weekly newspaper column for families. Her long and varied experience with youth prompted her desire to create a vehicle to help youngsters make a smooth transition into school. Janet is a strong advocate of life-long learning and believes getting children off to a good start is paramount to their ongoing success in life. ABOUT THE ILLUSTRATOR Carol Dotson is the youngest of seven children, and has three grown children and three grandchildren. With art classes in school, supplemented by lessons from her big sister, Bridget, Carol's natural ability to draw blossomed into a passion. While she explores all mediums, pencil and charcoal are Carol's preferences, which she uses in multiple applications in a range of approaches from line drawings to detailed and realistic animal portraits.