STEPHEN SHASKAN has written and illustrated a dozen childrens books in addition to his successful Pizza and Taco series. His debut picture book, A Dog Is a Dog, was a New York Public Library 100 Titles for Reading and Sharing Selection and was a CCBC Choices Book. He holds a BFA in illustration from Rhode Island School of Design, and worked with kids for twenty years as an early childhood educator and an after-school and summer art teacher. He performs musical storytimes, presents at schools, conferences, and festivals, and teaches comic classes to kids. Stephen lives with--and often collaborates with--his wife, author Trisha Speed Shaskan, in Minneapolis.