Maria Diaz Strom makes her debut as an author and illustrator with Rainbow Joe and Me. A native of Portland, Oregon, she studied art at Portland State University and has illustrated several children's educational books. Until recently, Ms. Strom taught art at the Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired. She was inspired to create this book by her students and by her husband's love of jazz. She and her husband now live in San Francisco.

Maria Diaz Strom makes her debut as an author and illustrator with Rainbow Joe and Me. A native of Portland, Oregon, she studied art at Portland State University and has illustrated several children's educational books. Until recently, Ms. Strom taught art at the Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired. She was inspired to create this book by her students and by her husband's love of jazz. She and her husband now live in San Francisco.

"A blind musician shows a child new ways of creating colors in this exuberant debut... The radiant blues and browns and oranges she has chosen fire her simply composed urban scenes with joie de vivre. Heighten budding painters' awareness of the possibilities of color with this chromatic symphony." -- Booklist

"Strom debuts with a determinedly exuberant book about a cool young African-American artist, Eloise, whose fondness for bold colors and boldly outlined shapes is happily echoed in the full-bleed acrylic spreads.... This exploration of sensory differences and similarities is enlightening and enchanting." -- Kirkus Reviews