About Us
About the Author
Erin on vacation in Cancun.
Erin Chang, age 17
Erin confesses she is secretly obsessed with pineapples, which is a complete turnaround from her former fear of them in fifth grade. She now has a pineapple water bottle, a pineapple backpack, and even pineapple jewelry, so if you ever feel like sending a gift, you know what to get.
Besides pineapples, Erin loves elephants. One day on YouTube, Erin saw a video of a gentle caretaker sleeping beside his orphaned baby elephant, and ever since then, she has dreamt of traveling the world to do the same. In the meantime, she has written Seven Toes to illuminate the wonder and beauty of these creatures that are set to become extinct in the wild by the time she graduates from high school: 2020. Even though elephants do not seem a daily part of our lives, they are a key part of our ecosystem and one of the most majestic animals who walk this Earth. Erin hopes that in reading this book, you will learn to love and protect these creatures as much as she does.
About the Illustrators
Bella's portrait of herself fashioning her black jacket and Nike shoes.
Bella Pettengill, age 17
Bella grew up surrounded by fish and babies as her dad was a fisherman and her mom used to run a daycare. Her first word was “fish.” She cites her early experiences with fish as the reason she is deathly afraid of them, so please never offer her a fish stick. On weekends, she plays Super Mario Odyssey with her trying little brother and sketches chalk murals of Hogwarts all over her bedroom walls to add spice to her life. Her secret confession is she may have a shrine dedicated to Spiderman that includes a pair of Spidey-socks as well as a secret stash of over one hundred old movie tickets, which she saves to remember the times she was swept up in her favorite stories. Today, Bella is ecstatic her art is going to do something that makes a difference.
Andrea enjoying a night out with her polaroid.
Andrea Chang, age 17
When Andrea was three, she was so thrilled to finally get all her parents’ attention while visiting her grandparents (her beautiful older sister was home alone) that she plucked the car keys from her mom’s purse and hid them in the toilet, then happily played with her dolls while everyone searched high and low for the keys. Anyway, she hasn’t gotten into that much trouble since. You would never know Andrea was so mischievous as she is as quiet as air. She blames her silence on the fact that in elementary school, too many teachers told her to stop yapping. Now, it’s become a dreadful habit that only gets broken around her beloved friends and cat, both with whom she has had many wonderful conversations. You can be jealous now.