Tonya Bolden is a critically acclaimed award-winning author and recipient of the Children's Book Guild of Washington, D.C.'s Nonfiction Award. She has authored and edited more than 40 books, including Maritcha: A Nineteenth-Century American Girl (Coretta Scott King Honor book), M.L.K.: Journey of a King (NCTE Orbis Pictus Award for Outstanding Nonfiction for Children), and George Washington Carver (Virginia Library Association Jefferson Cup Award and Cleveland Public Library Sugarman Award). Acclaimed for her "skilled storytelling," "lively text," and "impeccably-researched" topics, Bolden has received numerous starred reviews from Kirkus and School Library Journal. Bolden, who loved reading and writing as a child, earned her bachelor's degree from Princeton University and a master's degree from Columbia University. She lives in New York City.