Children's author, Johanna Hurwitz was born and raised in New York City. She attended Queens College where she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree and then Columbia University for her master's in Library Science. She worked as a librarian and taught graduate courses in children's literature and storytelling. Her first title, Busybody Nora was published in 1976 and she has been writing a book or two a year ever since. Her other titles include Dear Emma, Summer with Elisa, A Llama in the Family, Busybody Nora and the Adventures of Ali Baba Bernstein. She has written over 60 titles. Her works have won her several state awards, including the Texas Bluebonnet Award, the Kentucky Bluegrass Award,… the Garden State Children's Choice Award, and the Wyoming Indian Paintbrush Award.
Lillian Hoban was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on May 18, 1925. She attended the Philadelphia Museum School of Art, studied dance with Martha Graham, and taught modern dance in New York and Connecticut. She also danced professionally in the 1950's. During her lifetime, she illustrated or wrote more than 100 children's books. Her first publication was a book she illustrated, Herman the Loser, written by her husband Russell Hoban, and published in 1961. She illustrated several of his books including London Men and English Men, Charlie the Tramp, Emmet Otter's Jug Band Christmas, and books about a badger named Frances such as A Baby Sister for Frances. After the couple divorced in 1975,… she began writing and illustrating I-Can- Read-Books including Joe and Betsy the Dinosaur, Silly Tilly's Thanksgiving, and a series about Arthur the Chimpanzee and his little sister Violet. She died from heart failure on July 17, 1998 at the age of 73.