About the Author Laurie Waite Flores is a National Board-Certified Teacher who has been inspiring young minds in her rural Hawaiian community for over thirty years. With a master’s degree in education and licensure in both general and special education from preschool through twelfth grade, Laurie believes deeply in the power of hands-on learning and outdoor exploration. She is the author of The Christmas Dove, The Good Shepherd, The Legacy of a Tree and The Easter Butterfly, and has collaborated with more than four hundred students in Hawaii to write and illustrate a bilingual educational series on thirty-one endangered and endemic animals of the Hawaiian Islands. Laurie is passionate about helping children discover the beauty of nature, history, and storytelling. When she’s not teaching or writing, she enjoys photography, baking homemade bread, planning family celebrations, and relaxing by the ocean. Her personal motto is: “Learn something new every day and then share it.”