On September 11, 1961, Terry Catasús Jennings landed in the United States after a short flight from Cuba. On September 12th, she was enrolled in seventh grade in an American school. Her family, including her father who had been jailed during the Bay of Pigs invasion, was now in a free country. The only catch for twelve-year-old Terry was that she could count in English and recite the days of the week and the months of the year, but not much more. Often being the only Cuban in her school-even through college-Terry knows what it's like to be the new kid on the block. She is delighted to have the opportunity, with Definitely Dominguita, to portray a child of immigrants who is normal-no different than her peers-other than she loves the classics (like Jennings did as a child) and thinks Cuban food rules.
Mari Lobo was born and raised in São Paulo, Brazil. Being the youngest of three siblings and the only artist in a huge extended family lead her to be a very social person. She was always fond of drawing and painting, but her childhood was spent playing in the street and climbing trees more so than staying at home and drawing. By age fifteen she decided to be an artist, and after a quick detour-getting a degree in industrial design and working a couple years in the fashion industry-she moved to California and attended the Academy of Art in San Francisco where she got her master's in visual development for animation. She now lives in the sunny Bay Area (with her awesome classical musician husband) where she goes to concerts, on hikes, and out to dinner with friends, but mostly sits in front of her computer and draws all day every day. Mari likes to draw for kids because she loved being a child herself.

Includes excerpt from the next book in the series, Sherlock Dom.