Carol Matthews Rey is a second-grade teacher who has previously been named Martin County Teacher of the Year. She has taught elementary school for more than thirty-five years and had two history projects displayed at the Elliott Museum in Stuart, Florida. A member of the Florida Reading Association and the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, Rey was a past president of the Martin County Reading Association. She has completed advanced courses at the Institute of Children’s Literature. The daughter of a farmer, she lives in Indiantown, Florida.