CBA Grad, and SCBWI and 12×12 member, Lakshmi Thamizhmani divides her time between her corporate tech job, daydreaming and writing. After moving from India to the United States, she began writing for newspapers, but then discovered a passion for creative writing instead. Lakshmi now writes beautiful, lesser-known stories to bridge cultures and transport children to new worlds to learn and celebrate diversity.

Debasmita Dasgupta is an internationally published, Kirkus Best Prize-nominated illustrator, graphic novelist and screenwriter. She was born in Kolkata and lived in Singapore for more than a decade. Debasmita enjoys drawing both fiction and non-fiction for children and young adults. She has illustrated many picture books, comics and poems working with publishers in various parts of the world including China, Hong Kong, Singapore, India, the UK and the USA. As an art-for-change advocate, she tells stories of changemakers from around the world partnering with global non-profits. Debasmita also mentors aspiring and emerging visual storytellers in Asia. Today she lives in the United Kingdom.

★ “With youthful optimism and a can-do spirit, Prema creates an eco-friendly Ganesha statue, and other young people join her in reimagining how the holiday can be celebrated in a way that protects the river . . . A must-have for holiday collections.” - School Library Journal