Author Patricia MacLachlan was born in Cheyenne, Wyoming on March 3, 1938. She received a B.A. from the University of Connecticut in 1962 and taught English at a junior high school until 1979. She began writing picture books and novels at the age of thirty-five. She won the Golden Kite Award for Arthur, for the Very First Time and the 1986 Newbery Medal for Sarah, Plain and Tall. Her other well-known books include The Facts and Fictions of Minna Pratt, Skylark, Journey, Baby, and Three Names. She currently lives in Williamsburg, Massachusetts with her husband.