Vanessa Brantley-Newton Illustrator & Author

Vanessa Brantley-Newton (vanessabrantleynewton.com) grew up in a musical family, and her parents taught her how to sing to help overcome her stuttering. Shake is Off is inspired by her experiences, and the story of the little goat in this book was the basis for her TED Talk, “Diversity Designed by Adversity” (tinyurl.com/y6savcqj), which highlighted the importance of knowing your own  worth and rising up when others want to put you down. Vanessa is a beloved storyteller and has illustrated numerous picture books, including New York Times bestsellers The Queen of Kindergarten and The King of Kindergarten (both by Derrick Barnes), Mary Had a Little Glam (by Tammi Sauer), One Love (by Cedella Marley), and The Youngest Marcher (by Cynthia Levinson), as well as the chapter book series Ruby and the Booker Boys (by Derrick Barnes) and Jada Jones (by Kelly Starling Lyons). Some of the picture books she’s written and illustrated include Just Like Me, Becoming Vanessa and Grandma’s Purse. Vanessa lives in Charlotte, North Carolina.