 | Lauren Elisabeth Coffey was born at home in Dunwoody, Georgia. Her heritage is an enriched background expanding from the northern tip of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan to the Panama Canal, where her father's family has made their home dating back to the late 1800's. Her great-great grandfather, W. W. Woodhull, was one of the first seagoing pilots hired at the Panama Canal; and her great-great-great grandfather, Porfirio Melendez, was a Founding Father of the Republic of Panama. While on a trip to Panama with her family in 2001, Lauren was fascinated by the undulating flight pattern of the Toucan. It was this experience that inspired her to write and illustrate this book. |