Lynne Rae Perkins was awarded the Newbery Medal for Criss Cross . She is the author of two other novels— All Alone in the Universe , a companion to Criss Cross , and As Easy as Falling Off the Face of the Earth . Lynne Rae Perkins has also written and illustrated several picture books, including The Broken Cat , Snow Music , Pictures from Our Vacation , and The Cardboard Piano . The author, who loves peanut butter, lives with her family in northern Michigan, land of forests and squirrels.