ANITA YASUDA is the author of Up, Up, Ever Up! Junko Tabei: A Life In the Mountains, Diwali: A Festival of Joy and Bollywood Beat!, as well as many other books for young readers. She earned her honors degree in East Asian and South Asian studies at the University of Toronto and her Montessori and Early Childhood Educator qualifications at the AMI Institute in Vancouver, British Columbia. After graduating, Anita worked many jobs, including preschool teacher, salesclerk, caterer, firefighter (for one day), freelance magazine writer and author of books for educational publishers. Anita is a member of SCBWI, CCBC and CANSCAIP. She lives in Orangeville, Ontario.