About Vanessa Lewis-Porter Books
Vanessa Lewis-Porter is a former educator and reading intervention coordinator in Los Angeles. Working as a teacher, she witnessed the struggles and hardships that many of her students faced every day. Their resilience and strength inspired her to write The Things We Hold, which was honored with Lee & Low's New Voices Award. When she's not writing, Vanessa loves to read, travel, and watch professional basketball. She lives with her husband and son in sunny California. Cornelius Van Wright is an award-winning children's book illustrator, an author, and an art instructor. He has illustrated numerous picture books, many of which he co-illustrated with his wife, Ying-Hwa Hu. His work has appeared on Reading Rainbow and Storytime and has been exhibited in the Society of Illustrators. Cornelius's author-illustrated picture books have garnered praise from The Horn Book, Kirkus Reviews, School Library Journal, and many others. Cornelius lives with his wife in New York City. You can see more of his art at corneliusvanwright.com.
