Judith Byron Schachner was born in Waltham, Massachusetts on August 20, 1951. Talented at art from a young age, she graduated in 1973 from the Massachusetts College of Art with a BFA in illustration. After designing greeting cards for companies including Hallmark and giving birth to two daughters, Schachner wrote and illustrated her first picture book, Willy and May, in 1995. She writes and illustrates the popular Skippyjon Jones series for children about a dynamic Siamese kitten. Schachner and her family live in Pennsylvania.
Chris Raschka is an author and illustrator of children's books. Raschka's books, Yo!Yes? and Charlie Parker Played Be-Bop are famous for their minimal texts and inventive art. His book, Mysterious Thelonious, made Horn Book's Honor List in 1997.
David Small was born February 12, 1945, in Detroit, Michigan. He studied art and English at Wayne State University, and went on to complete graduate studies in art at Yale. After receiving his MFA degree, he taught at the State University of New York, Fredonia College, Kalamazoo College, and the University of Michigan. After graduating from college, Small became an assistant professor and taught drawing and printmaking. He also created editorial cartoons for publications such as the New Yorker, the New York Times, and the Wall Street Journal. In the 1980s, he lost his teaching job due to cutbacks. It was then that he committed himself to combining his loves of writing and art. Small earned… a 1998 Caldecott Honor for The Library, written by his wife, Sarah Stewart. In 2001 he received the Caldecott Medal for his artwork in So, You Want To Be President? by Judith St. George. Small has also illustrated books by his wife, Sarah Stewart. He has also reviewed children's books for The New York Times and was the final judge for the 1989 Parents' Choice Awards for Illustration. His editorial drawings regularly appear in publications such as The New York Times, The New Yorker, GQ, and The Washington Post.