Mitali Perkins is the children’s author of Bamboo People, Rickshaw Girl, and You Bring the Distant Near, which was longlisted for the National Book Award. In 2019, Perkins has two new publications. Forward Me Back to You is a young adult novel about trauma, healing, and social justice, and Between Us and Abuela is Perkins’s picture book debut about a girl visiting her grandmother for Christmas on the California-Mexico border.