Rachel G. Payne is the coordinator of early childhood services at Brooklyn Public Library. She pens the “First Steps” column for School Library Journal and the “Board Book Roundups” for The Horn Book Magazine. She chaired the 2016 Caldecott Award Committee and was a founding member of the Margaret Wise Brown Board Book Award Jury. Her debut picture book Let’s Rumble will be published July 2025 by Rise x Penguin Workshop. She lives in Queens, NY with her husband and son.