Michelle Markel is a former freelance journalist who wrote stories and opinion pieces for the Wall Street Journal and the Los Angeles Times . After her two daughters were born, she started writing for young people. She has written a variety of picture books, including, most recently, Tyrannosaurus Math and The Shark That Taught Me English . Michelle is also a founding member of the Children's Authors Network. She and her husband, an anthropologist, live in West Hills, California, with their two sweet cats.
Doug Cushman was born in Springfield, Ohio and moved to Connecticut with his family when he was 15 years old. Cushman attended a private art school in Connecticut called the Paier School of Art. While in high school he created comic books, selling them to his classmates for a nickel a piece. He also drew a comic strip for the school newspaper. Since 1978 he has illustrated over 80 children's books, 14 of which he wrote himself. Aunt Eater Loves a Mystery is a Reading Rainbow book. Other awards include a notable trade book honor from the National Council of Teachers of English for King Karfu, a nomination for the 1998 Garden State Children's Book award for Aunt Eater's Mystery Christmas and… the 1996 Rebuen Award for Magazine and Book Illustration sponsored by the National Cartoonists Society for King Karfu.