MARY BETH OWENS (Newcastle, ME) is an award-winning author and illustrator of children's books, among them Panda Whispers, Caribou Alphabet, Counting Cranes, and Be Blest: A Celebration of Seasons. She incorporates her passion for the natural world with her enthusiasm for children's books and teaching art. Research trips have taken her to study caribou in northern Maine, whooping cranes in New Mexico and Texas, sea turtles in Antigua, and marsupials in Australia.