Dr. Martha Ann Brueggeman (Marti) is a Professor Emeritus of Ashland University, where she taught graduate and undergraduate literacy, children's literature, early childhood, and special education courses. Prior to college teaching she taught both regular and special education in a variety of grade levels and in both public and Lutheran schools. Her Ph.D. is from Akron University with a specialization in literacy and oral language development. Marti earned her M.Ed. from Kent State University in Special Education. Her B.S. in Ed. is from Valparaiso University. In addition, she has completed extensive graduate course work in school psychology at the University of Nebraska and literacy at Virginia Polytechnical Institute. Marti has presented at conferences at the state, national, and international level. She has published in both state and national journals as Literacy Research and Instruction, Journal of Reading, American Secondary Educator, and the Florida Reading Journal. She is one of the authors of Literature for Young Adults: Books and More for Contemporary Readers. Marti and her husband Jim have two grown children and four grandchildren. They currently live in Westerville, Ohio. About the Illustrator Nathan Alan Ruff graduated from Virginia Commonwealth University with a BFA in sculpture in 1992 and received a teaching certificate from Wilson College in 2006. He worked for stained glass artist and tin smith, Ted Arillanas in Albuquerque, New Mexico where he helped construct chandalliers and wall sconces for La Fonda Hotel in Sante Fe, New Mexico and for Gardunio's and the University of New Mexico, in Albuquerque. Nathan returned to Pennsylvania to do freelance work with Adventure Art, Exhibit Studios, and Cenyx creating mural, theater sets, and museum exhibits that were primarily installed in Hershey Chocolate World and Hershey Park. He currently lives in Richmond, Virginia with his wife and two children where he teaches second grade at Ginter Park Elementary School.
