Fanny's Big Idea

Richard Michelson’s many books for children and adults have been named among the ten Best of the Year by The New York Times, Publishers Weekly, and The New Yorker. He has received a National Jewish Book Award (and twice been a finalist) and two Sydney Taylor Medals (and two honors) from the Association of Jewish Libraries. A native of Brooklyn, Michelson now lives in Northampton, Massachusetts, where he has served two terms as Poet Laureate, hosts Northampton Poetry Radio, and owns an art gallery.

Alyssa Russell is a Ringling College of Art and Design graduate and children’s book illustrator of Ashkenazi Jewish heritage. Her maternal great-grandparents immigrated to the United States from Eastern Europe in the early 1900s due to rampant antisemitism. While her mother shared some Jewish traditions with Alyssa at a young age, Jewish heritage was not a big part of her upbringing and was lost in her teen years. Since her mother’s death in 2018, Alyssa has been dedicated to rediscovering her Jewish identity. When she is not illustrating, she can be found weightlifting, working on her greeting card business, and filling her creative cup with movies and literature. She lives in Austin, Texas, and this is her debut picture book.