Collier, Kevin Scott

Diana M. Hawkins originally wrote this story when her two older daughters, Margaret and Joanna, were just toddlers. Today, she has grandchildren in high school. Diana grew up in Zimbabwe, and Lumpy was inspired by her lifelong love of elephants. The characters Gilbert and Gertie are modeled after homemade toys she created for her little girls out of fabric scraps. She left Africa in the 1970s and settled in the United States, pursuing a career as a journalist and environmental writer. She and her husband, Scott, live in Lawrenceville, Georgia. This, her first children's book, was originally pu...