Vaunda Micheaux Nelson is the author of many books for children, including Almost to Freedom, a Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honor Book. She was the winner of the Coretta Scott King Award and Gelett Burgess Children’s Book Award for Bad News for Outlaws: The Remarkable Life of Bass Reeves, Deputy U.S. Marshal. She works as a librarian in New Mexico, where she lives with her husband.