Betsy Franco-Feeney, illustrator of ten children's books, co-authored and illustrated two withthe award-winning singer-songwriter Christine Lavin. Hole in the Bottom of the Sea earnedan awesome Kirkus review: "If the fate of the planet is in the hands of our children, readingthem books like this one might be a wise idea". Amoeba Hop, garnered a Science Books andFilms' "Best Books Award". While doing research for the book, Betsy discovered diatoms andwas instantly smitten with their breathtaking beauty. She delighted in using them as drinkglasses and bar stools at the Amoeba Hop dance. If you look closely, you will also see thosefashionable Amoeba Proteus sporting diatom earrings!Rockland native Betsy Franco Feeney, is inspired each day by the beauty of her hometown, Piermont. She's travelled the world but has never thought to make her home base anywhereelse.Her training includes classes at School of Visual Arts and an AA degree at Fashion Instituteof Technology, where she was awarded the highest honor in Illustration. Later on, she addedcomputer graphics to her skill set. And what started as an obsession to photograph herdaughter's every performance, quickly morphed into a second carreer in photography. alongwith her paints and brushes, Betsy uses a Canon 5D Mark II along with a Wacom CintiqTablet and Photoshop."Some things you might like to know about me... I love singing show-tunes, drinking icedmochas, riding bikes and cross-country skiing. I'm a history buff and a perfectionist with amessy desk. Overly empathetic, I try not to freak out about global warming."Jewels of the Sea...The Hunt for Floating Treasure introduces children to the breathtakingand extremely important microscopic plant-like organism, the diatom. As tiny as they aremighty, diatoms make life on earth possible!