Barbara Carroll Roberts’s debut middle-grade novel, Nikki on the Line, was a finalist for two state children’s book awards and made numerous best-of-the-year lists. Her nonfiction picture book, A Rose Named Peace, illustrated by Bagram Ibatoulline, was a Junior Library Guild Gold Standard selection, a Texas Topaz Award winner, and received a starred review from School Library Journal. She grew up in northern California and holds an MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults from Hamline University. She has two grown children and now lives in Virginia with her husband, two cats, and one very goofy springer spaniel.