Nicolas Debon was born in Northern France and later moved to Nancy where he studied art at l'Ecole nationale des Beaux-Arts before moving to Toronto for ten years. His picture book The Strongest Man in the World won the Boston Globe / Horn Book Award. Nicolas currently lives in France.Jean E. Pendziwol is the author of Marja's Skis , which she wrote after hearing stories told by her husband's grandmother who grew up in a Finnish farming and logging community in northern Ontario, and also the author of Dawn Watch and The Red Sash , both illustrated by Nicolas Debon. Jean E. lives in Thunder Bay, Ontario.