Jean Marzollo was born in Manchester, Connecticut in 1942. She graduated from the University of Connecticut in 1964, and received a Masters in Teaching from the Harvard Graduate School of Education in 1965. After graduating, she taught for several years and then became involved in educational publishing. For twenty years she was the editor of "Let's Find Out," Scholastic's kindergarten magazine. She has written over a 130 books for children and has illustrated some of her own children's books starting in 2003. Her works include the I Spy series; Soccer Sam; Mama Mama/Papa Papa; Close Your Eyes; Happy Birthday, Martin Luther King; and the Shanna Show books. She was the recipient of the 2000… Rip Van Winkle Award presented by the School Library Media Specialists of Southeastern New York. She is married to Claudio Marzollo, a retired sculptor who has co-authored some of her children's science fiction and fantasy books. She resides in Upstate New York.
Brian Pinkney, author and illustrator, was born August 28, 1961. He has received the Coretta Scott King Award for his illustrations, three Coretta Scott King Honor Awards, and in 1997, he won the Boston Globe-Horn Book Award for his book, The Adventures of Sparrowboy. He has also won two Caldecott Honor awards for his illustrations with the books: The Faithful Friend, by Robert D. San Souci, and Duke Ellington: The Piano Prince and His Orchestra, by Andrea Davis Pinkney. Pinkney primarily uses the scratchboard illustrative technique with most of his books. Pinkney lives with his wife, Andrea, and their children in Brooklyn, New York.