Kathi Appelt (born July 6, 1954)[1] is an American author of more than forty books for children and young adults.

[2] She won the annual PEN USA award for Children's Literature recognizing The Underneath (2008).

[3] Kathi Appelt was born in Fayetteville, North Carolina,[1] and grew up in Houston, Texas.

She writes novels, picture books, poetry, and nonfiction for children and young adults.

[6] She is emerita faculty at the Vermont College of Fine Arts MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults program.