ate DiCamillo was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, raised in Florida, and currently lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Her widely-praised books for children include: Because of Winn-Dixie (a Newbery Honor Book), The Tiger Rising (a National Book Award finalist), the Newbery Medal-winning The Tale of Despereaux, the New York Times bestselling Mercy Watson series, The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane (a #1 New York Times Bestseller), and the newest addition, Great Joy, her first picture book which debuted on the New York Times Bestseller list immediately after its October 2007 publication. Forthcoming from Kate is another picture book entitled Louise: The Adventures of a Chicken which will be released by Joanna Cotler Books in Fall 2008 with illustrations by Harry Bliss. In addition, she teaches in the MFA program, Writing for Children and Young Adults, at Hamline University.