Written by a father and illustrated by his son, A Message for My Child is a beautiful book about the loving relationship between a parent and child through the years. It explores the challenges that all young people face, and learning responsibility for positive, faith-based choices.

Patrick Atkinson is the founder and executive director of The GOD'S CHILD Project and the Institute for Trafficked, Exploited & Missing Persons (ITEMP). He holds a Masters degree from Regis University in Denver CO. After college, Patrick turned down lucrative corporate job offers to work with runaways, prostitutes, and gang members in New York City's Hell's Kitchen. Two years later, Patrick moved to Central America where he began a 25-year career in international war-zone reconciliation and post-war reconstruction. He is the recipient of numerous human rights awards and is the subject of The Dream Maker, a biography by Monica Hannan. Patrick resides in Central America and at Hippo Wallow Pond, his family home outside of Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Ernesto ''Neto'' Atkinson was born and raised in Antigua Guatemala. As a young boy, Ernesto expressed a great interest in art, and over the years his artistic influences grew. He has been called ''an artist who truly sees art as an active agent of change.'' Ernesto's work represents a contemporary movement which observes his experiences with everyday life, political and religious concepts, and philosophies. His art is a mix of various media that represents the different faces and dissimilarities of society. Ernesto resides in Fargo, North Dakota, works in education, and displays his art through galleries and online at ErnestoAtkinson.com.