Lois Ehlert was born November 9, 1934, in Beaver Dam, Wisconsin. She is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, and the Layton School of Art. She has also worked as an art teacher, freelance illustrator, and designer. Her work as an author and an illustrator has appeared in countless publications and has received numerous awards and honors. In addition to creating books, Ehlert has produced toys, games, clothes for children, posters, brochures, catalogs, and banners. She has received the Caldecott Honor Book, 1989, for Color Zoo, a Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year for Snowballs, the Booklist Editors' Choice for Cuckoo/Cuc�: A Mexican Folktale/Un Cuento Folkl�rico… Mexicano, the IRA Teachers' Choice and NCTE Notable Children's Trade Book in the Language Arts for Feathers for Lunch, the American Library Association Notable Children's Book and Boston Globe-Horn Book Honor Award for Chicka Chicka Boom Boom.