Best known as the author of the Wizard of Oz series, Lyman Frank Baum was born on May 15, 1856, in New York. When Baum was a young man, his father, who had made a fortune in oil, gave him several theaters in New York and Pennsylvania to manage. Eventually, Baum had his first taste of success as a writer when he staged The Maid of Arran, a melodrama he had written and scored. Married in 1882 to Maud Gage, whose mother was an influential suffragette, the two had four sons. Baum often entertained his children with nursery rhymes and in 1897 published a compilation titled Mother Goose in Prose, which was illustrated by Maxfield Parrish. The project was followed by three other picture books of… rhymes, illustrated by William Wallace Denslow. The success of the nursery rhymes persuaded Baum to craft a novel out of one of the stories, which he titled The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. Some critics have suggested that Baum modeled the character of the Wizard on himself. Other books for children followed the original Oz book, and Baum continued to produce the popular Oz books until his death in 1919. The series was so popular that after Baum's death and by special arrangement, Oz books continued to be written for the series by other authors. Glinda of Oz, the last Oz book that Baum wrote, was published in 1920.
Sabuda was born in Pinckney, Michigan on March 8, 1965. He was skilled as an artist from a very young age, and he attended the Pratt Institute in New York City. His specific interest in 3-D paper engineering---pop-up books---was sparked by a book he received as a gift. Since 1994 Sabuda has published at least one pop-up book annually. These books are typically childrens' classics like The Twelve Days of Christmas, Mother Goose, The Wizard of Oz, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, The Night Before Christmas and, most recently, Beauty and the Beast. Sabuda works from his studio in New York City. His 2010 title Beauty and The Beast made The New York Times BestSeller List for 2010.