Hayley and John Rocco - Click to see all titles by this author.

“It’s a special thing to get a letter. The person stopped to take that time to be with you, on that piece of paper. It’s a bit of that person’s time, and that means the world—especially nowadays.”

Hayley Rocco has loved children’s books her whole life and has worked for over 15 years in the children’s book publishing business promoting them. She attained a BS in Journalism at Northern Arizona university. Hayley is an author and photographer and loves swimming, running, traveling, exploring nature—especially near the ocean—and learning all about the world around her. She has been sending hugs since she was six. It was only natural that she created a book about how to do just that.

John Rocco is a #1 New York Times bestselling author and illustrator of many acclaimed books and recipient of the Caldecott Honor and the Sibert Honor awards. He is also well-known for illustrating book covers in the Percy Jackson & the Olympians series, recipient of many prestigious awards. John studied at the Rhode Island School of Design and earned a degree from the School of Visual Arts in New York City. John has also worked as Art and Creative Director for DreamWorks, Disney’s Epcot, and Disney Quest. He was the creator of some of the first CGI commercials and special effects and has contributed to several museum projects including Newseum in Washington, D.C. and Paul Allen’s Science Fiction Museum and Hall of Fame. John has been learning to send hugs, and is starting to get pretty good at it.

Hayley and John live with a very excitable dog, two cats, three budgies, and a plethora of fish in Rhode Island near the ocean.