Adib Khorram lives in Kansas City, Missouri. When he isn't writing (or at his day job as a graphic designer), you can probably find him trying to get his hundred-yard freestyle under a minute, learning to do a Lutz jump, or steeping a cup of oolong. His debut novel, Darius the Great Is Not Okay, earned several awards, including the William C. Morris Debut Award, the Asian/Pacific American Award for Young Adult Literature, and a Boston Globe-Horn Book Honor. The sequel, Darius the Great Deserves Better, comes out in August 2020.

Zainab Faidhi is a conceptrual artist, illustrator, animator, and architect. Her work includes the feature film The Breadwinner, which was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Animated Feature. Seven Special Somethings is her first picture book to be published in the United States.

Celebrating Persian New Year: There are no other trade picture books celebrating Nowruz, or Persian New Year, so this book will really serve the community of more than half a million Persians in the United States and teach readers who don't celebrate about a new holiday. Nowruz is celebrated by Persians and other groups in Iran, Afghanistan, and many other countries in the region and worldwide.

First day of spring: Nowruz takes place on the first day of spring (March 21, 2021), so its sunny family story and themes of rebirth and renewal will fit perfectly in spring promotions.

Debut picture book from a YA favorite: This is Adib Khorram's first picture book, and readers in the Iranian-American community who are familiar with Darius the Great will love seeing this Nowruz celebration from an author they love.

Fresh illustrator: Zainab Faidhi is an Iraqi-American illustrator and animator whose previous work includes the Academy Award-nominated film The Breadwinner. Seven Special Somethings is her U.S. debut picture book, and its subject matter is dear to her-her family celebrates Nowruz too.