Phillip Hoose was born in Indiana in 1947, and currently makes his home in Portland, Maine. He began his writing career with adult books, but switched to writing primarily children’s and young adult books after he had two daughters. In addition to being an author, he is a songwriter and professional musician. Hoose helped found the Children’s Music Network, a music education company that aims to foster a love of music and strong communities among the youngest members of society. He is also an environmentalist; he graduated from Indiana University and the Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies, and spent almost four decades working for the Nature Conservancy.

Hoose’s writing spans multiple genres, but he primarily focuses on nonfiction works about topics that have not historically been given much public attention. Like Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice, many of his books explore the lives of young people who have contributed significantly to social change. Other works by Hoose include The Race to Save the Lord God Bird, which examines the conservation efforts surrounding the ivory billed woodpecker, The Boy Who Challenged Hitler: Knut Pedersen and the Churchill Club, which tells the story of a group of young Danish boys who successfully sabotaged the Nazis, and We Were There Too! Young People in U.