Emma Carl­son Berne is the author of over 120 books for juve­nile, mid­dle grade, and young adult read­ers, includ­ing Books By Horse­back, illus­trat­ed by Ilar­ia Urbinati, and Shab­bat Sab­o­tage, a mid­dle-grade mys­tery. She has worked with Amer­i­can Girl Pub­lish­ing, Dis­ney Lucas­film, Simon & Shus­ter, Nation­al Geo­graph­ic Kids, and Scholas­tic among oth­ers. She often ghost­writes under the names Jake Mad­dox, Lila Stew­art, Eliz­a­beth Woods, and Hai­ley Abbott. She often writes about Jew­ish his­to­ry and cul­ture. Emma lives with her fam­i­ly in Cincin­nati, Ohio.