Photojournalist Susan Kuklin follows her natural curiosity, her strong desire to promote social justice, and her fascination with people when embarking on each new project for children. She explains that her books take on a life of their own once the subjects get involved. "Sometimes the books seem to be writing themselves, taking me someplace extraordinary where I have never been before," the New York City-based former schoolteacher told Authors and Artists for Young Adults (AAYA). Working as an author and illustrator of photo-essays for young children since the early-1980s--among her many books are Reaching for Dreams: A Ballet from Rehearsal to Opening Night, How My Family Lives in America, and Kodomo: Children of Japan, Kuklin has also written several topical nonfiction books for older teens that grapple with controversial subjects. The straight-talking Speaking Out: Teenagers Take on Race, Sex, and Identity, published in 1993, would be among...