Miriam Bat-Ami is the author of books for children and adolescents that examine topics such as friendship, prejudice, and religion. Her works When the Frost is Gone, Dear Elijah, and Two Suns in the Sky feature teenage protagonists who struggle to establish their own identities under confusing and often painful circumstances.

Bat-Ami once said: "I have always wanted to move people. I love to hear children laugh. I love to see them laugh when I'm reading to them. I suppose I get this from my father, who would stand on the pulpit and move us all to laughter and tears. I love the tears, too, that come after the laughter when suddenly the world opens, and we see something new, something perhaps that's always been there.

"I think I've always had a gift for voice, for remembering how people say things. Dialogue is very important to me, even...