Award-winning author Stella Blackstone has written many of Barefoot¿s best-selling titles, including the Bear series, the Cleo the Cat series and My Granny Went to Market. Sunny Scribens is a picture book editor and author. She has also written Space Song Rocket Ride for Barefoot Books. She lives with her husband and young daughter, who provided much inspiration for Baby's First Words. Maria Carluccio has studied art all over the world, and has also taught drawing and illustration at the Academy of Art in San Francisco. She comes from a creative background ¿ her mother was an artist and her father was a lawyer and writer. Maria finds her inspiration in everything around her, from the knick-knacks she collects in flea markets to scraps of interesting paper she finds on the streets. She lives in New York City with her young daughter.