Mordicai Gerstein is a popular writer and illustrator of books for children. Born on November, 1935 in Los Angeles, he attended the Chouinard Art Institute in California. He showed an interest in books and art at an early age and also became actively involved with animation. He soon teamed-up with writer Elizabeth Levy, and illustrated the successful "Something Queer" series of books, in which young sleuths Gwen and Jill team up to solve mysteries. In addition to illustrating, Gerstein began writing books of his own. He produced Arnold of the Ducks, a story full of charm and nostalgia about a young child who is raised by ducks. Arnold of the Ducks was adapted as an animated film. Gerstein… has also retold many ancient religious stories, such as that of Jonah in his book, Jonah and the Two Great Fish. Gerstein has won many awards including 2 CINE Golden Eagle Awards from the International Film and Television Festival of New York.