CBCC WILD 2025 Team
HAYLEY ROCCO
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JOHN ROCCO
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John Rocco is a New York Times bestselling author and illustrator of many acclaimed books for children including Blackout, the recipient of a Caldecott Honor, and How We Got to the Moon, which received a Robert F. Sibert Honor and was longlisted for the National Book Award. Rocco is also known for illustrating the cover art for Rick Riordan's internationally bestselling series Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard, and The Trials of Apollo. He also created the illustrations for the #1 New York Times bestsellers, Percy Jackson's Greek Gods and Percy Jackson's Greek Heroes.
In addition to becoming an ambassador for Wild Tomorrow, he is also co-founder of the Children's Book Creators for Conservation group, which is embarking on its first trip to South Africa together in October 2023. He lives in Rhode Island with his wife—and fellow co-chair of the CBCC—author Hayley Rocco. |
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MEG FLEMING
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Meg Fleming is the award-winning author of many books for children, including I Was Born A Baby, I Live in a Tree Trunk, Wondering Around, and her newest, The Everything Trail (Beach Lane, 8.26.25). Her books have been highly lauded by the American Library Association, the Canadian Children’s Book Center, The Today Show, and others for their capacity to educate, inspire, and in some cases – incite fits of laughter.
Meg’s lifelong love of animals and nature are a never-ending source of inspiration for her stories. She is honored to return to South Africa as the CBCC's new Volunteer Liaison where she looks forward to reconnecting with some of her favorite striped, spotted, and speckled critters. Meg writes from her home outside of San Francisco. She has three kids, one husband, and one adorable dog named Opal. |
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ANN DYE
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Ann Dye is VP, Sales Operations at HarperCollins Publishers in New York City with over 20 years of experience in the book industry. A lifelong book (and animal!) lover, Ann has worked at a variety of publishing houses, including Disney, Little Brown Books for Young Readers, and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt/Clarion. In her years in the publishing industry, Ann has worked animal conservation into several marketing campaigns, including partnerships with the Animal Welfare Institute and others.
When not working her day job, Ann is a volunteer at KittyKind, a local no-kill NY animal shelter, to support their mission. And she has two small furry friends of her own at home, her rescue cats Arnold and Caroline. Ann lives in Jersey City. |
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KAYLA HARREN
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Kayla Harren is the illustrator of several award-winning books including Calvin, winner of the Lambda Literacy Award; A Boy Like You, a Eureka! Gold Award winner; and The Boy Who Grew a Forest, winner of the Crystal Kite Award. More recently, her books, Thursday, Oskar's Voyage, and This is How We Play were selected for the Society of Illustrators Original Art Show in New York City. Kayla studied illustration at the prestigious School of Visual Arts in Manhattan and continues to craft her books in Minnesota where she lives with her husband and two lively dogs.
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LEAH HENDERSON
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Leah Henderson is a writer, mentor, and teacher. Her critically acclaimed books for young readers include The Courage of the Little Hummingbird, The Magic in Changing Your Stars, and Together We March. Her books have appeared on numerous Best Books lists including the New York Public Library, Bank Street College, and the Center for the Study of Multicultural Children's Literature. Because of her serious wanderlust, when Leah is not creating stories, she is off someplace in the world getting lost--then found--discovering new ones.
Leah is overjoyed to be joining the Children's Book Creators for Conservation in 2025 on its second trip to South Africa. The wonder and beauty of the wild cannot help but inspire and she is excited to experience the heartbeat and rhythm of this precious space up close. Leah is based in Washington, D.C., which is its own kind of wild. |
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MOLLY IDLE
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Molly Idle is the author and illustrator of the Caldecott Honor-winning picture book Flora and the Flamingo and all of the stories featuring Flora and her feathered friends, too. She's also the creator of the Rex series, the mermaid tale Pearl, and the magical Witch Hazel.
Prior to pursuing a career in picture books, Molly worked as an artist for DreamWorks Feature Animation studios in California. She has since set up show in the sunny state of Arizona, where she lives with her marvelous, multigenerational family, and their feathery, furry, four-footed menagerie. |
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JUANA MARTINEZ-NEAL
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Juana Martinez-Neal is a Peruvian-born, award-winning author and illustrator of books for young readers. She is the daughter and granddaughter of painters born and raised in the busy city of Lima. Her debut as an author-illustrator, Alma and How She Got Her Name, was awarded a Caldecott Honor and was published in Spanish as Alma y cómo obtuvo su nombre. She also illustrated La Princesa and the Pea by Susan Middleton Elya, for which she won a Pura Belpré Illustrator Award, Fry Bread: A Native American Family Story by Kevin Noble Maillard, which won a Robert F. Sibert Medal; among many other acclaimed books. Juana now lives in the woods of Southeastern Connecticut where she shares a home with her family, dogs and woodland animals of all sizes.
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BRENDA SCOTT ROYCE
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Brenda Scott Royce is a lifelong lover of beasts and books—and whenever possible her work combines the two. She has published over 30 books for young readers including the multiple award-winning picture book Angela & Lulingu: Two Gorillas, A World Apart and National Geographic Kids best-selling The Coolest Stuff on Earth. Royce has also created the PAW Pals chapter book series, about service animals and their human friends, and the Zoo Crew series about kids who volunteer at their local zoo. Brenda has also scripted several episodes of the popular animated series, Chuggington. She lives in Los Angeles, California.
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DR. DIANE JACKSON SCHNOOR
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Diane Jackson Schnoor is a nationally recognized speaker, educator, and podcast host. Through her workshops, she helps educators connect play, literacy, and engaged STEM/STEAM experiences for joyful learning with students. Dr. Diane offers a lifetime of practical knowledge from her work in the classroom, as founder of an award-winning preschool, as a museum educator, and as a professor at the University of Virginia and Shenandoah University. Deeply curious, she loves adventuring around the world and helping children, families, and educators build deeper connections to nature, to the world around them, and to the fascinating people who are making a difference. She currently lives and writes in Virginia, where she lives with her husband, two chickens who lay eggs when they feel like it, a duck toller dog who doesn't like water, and a cat who rules them all.
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