Lane Smith was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma on August 25, 1959. He received a Bachelor of Fine Arts in illustration from Art Center, College of Design in Pasadena, California. He moved to New York City and was hired to do illustrations for various publications including Time, Mother Jones, and Ms.. He is a children's book author and an illustrator. His titles with Jon Scieszka have included the Caldecott Honor winner The Stinky Cheese Man, The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs, Math Curse, and Science Verse. He wrote and illustrated Madam President, John, Paul, George and Ben, The Happy Hocky Family, The Happy Hocky Family Moves to the Country, It's a Book, and Grandpa Green. His other high… profile titles include Hooray for Diffendoofer Day! by Dr. Seuss and Jack Prelutsky, The Very Persistent Gappers of Frip by George Saunders, Big Plans by Bob Shea, and James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl. He also served as conceptual designer on the Disney film version of James and the Giant Peach, Monsters, Inc. and the film adaptation of How the Grinch Stole Christmas!
Randy Ray is a freelance writer, author and publicist. He worked as a reporter with The London Free Press for 13 years, including three years as the newspaper's Parliament Hill correspondent. He lives in Ottawa.