Tracey West grew up in a small town in New Jersey. After high school, West attended Rutgers University and studied English and Journalism. She worked on the college newspaper and as a newspaper reporterbefore graduating and getting a job as an editorial assistant at a small publishing company. From there West moved to a company that packaged children�s books and sold them to other publishers. She started submitting ideas for books that other writers would then turn into stories. Finally, she wrote her first book, a Nancy Drew/Hardy Boys Supermystery called Spies and Lies. At the same time, she and two friends came up with an idea for a children�s book called Great Uncle Dracula. They… wrote the book under the pseudonym Jayne Harvey. West then went to work for Scholastic, and when she left in 1996, she decided to try writing books full time. In 1997 she started Pure West Productions and began writing, editing, and packaging books and magazines. Although writing Pok�mon kept her busy, Scholastic picked up her original series, Pixie Tricks. She went on to write eight books in the Pixie Tricks series and continued to write new stories for the popular Pixie Tricks website, www.pixietricks.com. In August 2003, Grosset & Dunlap published West's new series, Scream Shop, a Pick Your Path series that lets readers choose what will happen in the story. West also writes many books based on cartoon characters such as Samurai Jack, SpongeBob Squarepants, the Looney Tunes, the Powerpuff Girls, Sailor Moon, Cardcaptors, Cubix, and Scooby Doo.
Considered to be one of the foremost authors and illustrators of surrealistic fantasy for children, Chris Van Allsburg was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan, in 1949. He received his B. F. A. at the University of Michigan and his M. F. A. at the Rhode Island School of Design. He married Lisa Morrison and currently teaches at the Rhode Island School of Design. Van Allsburg's work is highly praised for the excellent artisanship of his illustrations, which often have a surreal element. His first book, The Garden of Abdul Gasazi (1979), concerning a lost dog found by a magician, and his second book, Jumanji (1981), about a strange board game that comes to life, brought him quick praise. Jumanji… won the Caldecott Medal in 1982. The Polar Express (1985), Van Allsburg's most popular book, deals with the idea that the ability to believe in things beyond one's experiences helps to keep a person young. It also won a Caldecott Medal in 1986. Other books by Van Allsburg include The Z was Zapped, and Just a Dream, a story about a boy who learns to be ecological. Van Allsburg's sculptures have also been exhibited at many New York galleries.
Ellen Weiss has written over 200 books. Her titles have won many awards and have been adapted into a Disney TV movie and a BBC radio play. Two of them, The Taming of Lola and Porky and Bess, were named Bank Street Best Books of 2010. Her other titles include I Love You Little Monster, The Stinky Giant, and Christmastime is Here!