Her love of children's books and their tremendous impact on emergent and early readers inspired this book. She has taught reading courses to thousands of undergraduate pre-service teachers. Mackey is coauthor of the Libraries Unlimited books Collaborating for Real Literacy: Librarian, Teacher, Literacy Coach, and Principal, coauthored with Sharon Pitcher, and A Librarian's Guide to Cultivating an Elementary School Garden, coauthored with her daughter, Jennifer Mackey Stewart.Hedy Schiller Watson, MBA, formerly taught English as a Second Language (ESL) in Arlington, VA. Her undergraduate background in art history and her work in a gallery, in a museum, and at a research institution have fueled her visual appetite and appreciation. She is an active volunteer in her community and publishes prints as fundraisers.