Mabel Beecher

Mabel Beecher loves Kindergarten. And she loves her teacher, Mrs. Ampersand, because she's funny and smart and makes the class work hard, but brings Popsicles every Friday if everyone really tries.

But then Mrs. Ampersand announces that she's leaving for the rest of the year because she's going to be having a baby.

Mabel is not happy. Especially because her new teacher, Mrs. Windbag, is so boring. And she doesn't bring the right snacks. And she's not very good at reading out loud.

So Mabel thinks about what Mrs. Ampersand would do. And she starts leading the class. There's a lot to learn in Kindergarten, even for Mrs. Windbag.

And by the end of the year, Mabel is certain she's going to be a great future teacher!

Cari Best's delightful new picture book introduces a clever, determined new heroine, and celebrates the power of learning, however old you are.

Cari Best grew up in New York City, is a graduate of the City University of New York, and received a Master's Degree in Library Science from Drexel University, landing a job as the first librarian at the newly built headquarters of the International Reading Association in Newark, Delaware.

Her books have received many awards and accolades including a School Library Journal Best Book of the Year, an Amelia Bloomer Book List selection, a Charlotte Zolotow Honor Book, and an ALA Notable, and she received the Ezra Jack Keats New Writer Award for her first book.

She lives in Connecticut where she walks, gardens, laughs and reads a lot.

Lisa Hunt would stay up late at night as a kid, scribbling in her sketchbooks. Fast forward to today, and she still stays up late at night scribbling in her sketchbooks. When not at her desk, she can be found in the local coffee shop or at home waggling a bit of string at an over-excited ginger cat.