Hope Anita Smith
Hope Anita Smith is an American poet and author of children's books, best known for her Coretta Scott King Award-winning middle grade novel "Keeping the Night Watch." Personal life. Smith was born in Akron, Ohio. She was introduced to the children's publishing industry via fellow author and teacher Myra Cohn Livingston, whose class she attended and ultimately discovered her voice and interest in writing for children there. She attended La Sierra University from 1980 to 1983, studying English, but ultimately did not graduate. Smith now lives in Los Angeles, California. Selected works. Smith wrote  her second picture book "My Daddy Rules the World: Poems about Dads," with the intention of celebrating fathers all over the world because she cites to have always had a soft spot for the way fathers interact with their children, also intending to give credit to fathers"." Bibliography. Picture books Middle grade