Kirby Larson is the acclaimed author of the 2007 Newbery Honor Book Hattie Big Sky and its sequel Hattie Ever After, as well as The Friendship Doll, and Dear America: The Fences Between Us. She has also co-written a number of picture books, including the award-winning Two Bobbies: A True Story of Hurricane Katrina, Friendship, and Survival; and Nubs: The True Story of a Mutt, a Marine and a Miracle. She lives in Washington State with her husband and Winston the Wonder Dog.