Award-winning author and illustrator, Don Tate has illustrated over 40 books for children.  Don received an AAA degree from Des Moines Area Community College and went on to become a publication designer for the Perfection Learning Corporation. He has also been an art director and a graphic artist in a print shop. Don now lives in Austin, Texas with his wife and son and works as the illustrator/graphics reporter for the Austin-American Statesman. Tate has received multiple awards for his illustrations and has been featured at the Texas Book Festival for his work as an illustrator, but he demonstrates his skill as a writer with It Jes' Happened. In It Jes' Happened: When Bill Traylor Started to Draw, author Don Tate takes a historical look at one of the foremost self-taught artists in America - in fact, Traylor was a former slave turned artist - and weaves it into an entertaining story. But this story is more than a festive tale - it invites children into a world of cotton picking, the Civil War and Traylor's struggles as an emancipated slave. The picture book uses brightly colorful illustrations by R. Gregory Christie to depict the story of Bill Traylor; the illustrations pay homage to Traylor's work, capturing the rustic simplicity for which he was known. It Jes' Happened is a cultural treasure, an imaginative union of art and writing.