John Schoenherr was born in New York City on July 5, 1935. He received a B.F.A. from the Pratt Institute in 1956. During his lifetime, he illustrated numerous books for children and adults including The Wolfling and Rascal by Sterling North, Gentle Ben by Walt Morey, The Fox and the Hound by Daniel P. Mannix, Incident at Hawk's Hill by Allan W. Eckert, Julie of the Wolves by Jean Craighead George, and The Illustrated Dune by Frank Herbert. He won a Caldecott Medal in 1988 for Owl Moon by Jane Yolen and a Hugo award in 1965 for his science fiction artwork. He died of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease on April 8, 2010 at the age of 74.