Tziporah Cohen grew up gardening with her dad but never grew beets, probably because her dad doesn’t like them. She has an MD from Harvard Medical School and an MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults from Vermont College of Fine Arts. Her debut novel, No Vacancy, was named a Sydney Taylor Honor Book and was a finalist for the National Jewish Book Award. She based City Beet on a Russian folktale called “The Gigantic Turnip” but decided to set it in a big city rather than on a farm. She lives in Toronto, Canada, with her family. Learn more about her at tziporahcohen.com.