Shawn Ryan

Shawn Ryan has worked with families of all colors, shapes and sizes, as well as families full of surprises, throughout his career as a social worker. He earned his graduate degree from Nazareth College of Rochester in New York while working with families in and out of social service systems. When facilitating a lesson, he often found it difficult to locate a children's book that revealed the diversity within our communities. His hope is that every family and child finds themselves within the images created by Dianne Dengel. Shawn currently lives with his husband in Portland, Oregon where he enjoys running his business and caring for family pets.

About the Illustrator

Dianne Dengel is a self-taught “people” artist, who has been painting and creating art in Rochester, New York for more than 60 years. Well known as the artist who paints with her fingers, she lives and works today in the same tiny home her father built with found scraps of lumber in 1949. Dianne’s talent for painting with her fingers was developed as a child out of necessity, as she was unable to afford brushes. Her cloth dolls, sculptures, and paintings are known internationally and are in private collections all over the world. Regardless of the medium, her creations speak softly of love, understanding and a simpler way of life.