Dr. Jewell Parker Rhodes is the New York Times bestselling author of several books for youth, including Ghost Boys, Black Brother, Black Brother, Paradise on Fire, Towers Falling, and the Louisiana Girls Trilogy: Ninth Ward, Sugar, and Bayou Magic. She is the recipient of many distinguished awards, including the Coretta Scott King Honor, the Jane Addams Children’s Book Award, an NAACP Image Award nomination, and the Walter Award. Rhodes is the Virginia G. Piper Endowed Chair in Creative Writing at Arizona State University.