Cornelia Maude Spelman, MSW, was a therapist with children and families before turning full-time to writing and art. She is author of “The Way I Feel” series of books for young children, described by reviewers as "sensitive" and "compassionate," which have sold over four million copies and been translated into Chinese, Korean, Spanish, Greek, Japanese, German, Arabic, Turkish, Danish, Portuguese, and Russian. She is also the author of the best-selling YOUR BODY BELONGS TO YOU, and her latest picture book, A FOOT IS NOT A FISH! about disinformation.

She has written two memoirs—MISSING (Northwestern University Press, 2020; paperback JackLeg Press 2023) and SOLACE (JackLeg Press 2024.)