Wilma Jean the Worry Machine

Julia Cook, M.S. is a national award-winning children's author, counselor, and parenting expert. She has presented in thousands of schools nationally and internationally, regularly speaks at education and counseling conferences, and has published children's books on a wide range of character and social development topics. The goal behind Cook's work is to actively involve young people in fun, memorable stories and teach them to become lifelong problem solvers. Inspiration for her books comes from working with children and carefully listening to counselors, parents, and teachers, in order to stay on top of needs in the classroom and at home. Cook has the innate ability to enter the worldview of a child through storybooks, giving children both the "what to say" and the "how to say it."

Anita DuFalla has had a very versatile art career, ranging from children's book illustration to advertising and teaching. Anita is editorial art director at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and an adjunct faculty member of Point Park University. Her work has received numerous national awards for both design and illustration from the Society of Newspaper Design, Print Regional Design, and the Pennsylvania Newspaper Association.