LESLIE V. RYAN was born in Japan, and raised in the Philippines and Papua New Guinea. She graduated from the University of California at Berkeley with a bachelor's degree in Legal Studies and Japanese Language. Her love for books began when she first started reading at the age of four, and that passion has now turned into a newfound love of writing them. With her first published work of I am Flippish!, Leslie taps into her personal life to help children explore diversity and family -- celebrating just how wonderful it is to be different! (10/2011)
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