Hold This! (PB)

After working as a newspaper reporter in Los Angeles, Carolyn Cory Scoppettone moved to small town New England to raise her children. In addition to picture books, Carolyn writes poetry, creative nonfiction, and middle grade novels. She lives in Montpelier, Vermont, with her husband Greg (a television director), their daughters, Sophia, Anna, and Nadia, plus two cats, one dog, and a puppy.

Priscilla Alpaugh earned her BFA in Painting and Illustration from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and studied for her MFA in Illustration at Syracuse University. Priscilla creates illustrations for the children's market. She also has been known to paint murals and traffic control boxes, design logos and bookplates, and make digital animations. She works primarily in traditional mediums such as pencil, colored pencil, ink, and watercolor, but will use digital methods as well.

"By story’s end, readers will smile knowingly as they ultimately realize that like Mika’s walk, childhood innocence is something worth savoring."
—Pamela Brill, The Talking Walnut

"As this sweet book reminds us, the beauty of this gorgeous planet is best reflected through a child's eyes."
—Bill McKibben

"Utterly charming.  Parents and children everywhere will be lacing up their hiking boots and heading for the woods."
  —Linda Urban, author of A Crooked Kind of Perfect and Hound Dog True

"Hold This is the perfect children's book that will encourage exploration of our natural world just the way a young person finds the most enjoyment—by collecting treasures with a loved one! 
—Elise Annes, The Vermont Land Trust

"A sweet celebration of sharing in the outdoors."
—Kirkus Reviews 

"The watercolor illustrations depict the joy of a little girl's treasure hunt and the woodland creatures that follow in her footsteps add humor to a very sweet story."
—Foreword Reviews