Carmen Agra Deedy

Deedy is the author of eleven books for children, including The Library Dragon, The Cheshire Cheese Cat, Martina the Beautiful Cockroach, and 14 Cows for America, a New York Times Best- seller. The Rooster Who Would Not Be Quiet! (Scholastic Press) was released in 2017. Her personal stories first appeared on NPR’s All Things Considered. Funny, insightful, and frequently irreverent, Deedy’s narratives are culled from her childhood as a Cuban refugee in Decatur, Georgia. She is host of the four-time Emmy-winning children’s program, Love That Book!

An award-winning author and storyteller, Deedy is also an accomplished lecturer, having been a guest speaker for both the TED and TEDx Conferences, the Library of Congress, Columbia University, the National Book Festival, and the Kennedy Center, among other distinguished venues. Ms. Deedy’s dedication to libraries and librarians has been life-long. She served on the Dekalb Public Libraries Board of Trustees, in her home state of Georgia, as an Author Library Advocate for the American Library Association A life-long supporter of the institution, she opened the 2016 Art of the Book Lecture Series for the Smithsonian Libraries.

Carmen’s newest picture book, Rita and Ralph’s Rotten Day (Scholastic Press), illustrated by Pete Oswald, was released on March 3, 2020.