Deborah Hopkinson is the author of many highly acclaimed picture books, including A Letter to My Teacher, which received two starred reviews, and the modern classic Sweet Clara and the Freedom Quilt, which the New York Times called "inspiring." Her other books include Sky Boys: How They Built the Empire State Building, a Boston Globe-Horn Book Honor Book; and Abe Lincoln Crosses a Creek: A Tall, Thin Tale, an ALA-ALSC Notable Children's Book. She lives in Oregon with her family.

Paul O. Zelinsky is the acclaimed illustrator numerous children's books. He received the Caldecott Medal for his illustrated retelling of Rapunzel, as well as three Caldecott Honors for Hansel and Gretel, Rumpelstiltskind, and Swamp Angel, written by Anne Isaacs, along with countless other awards. He is also the illustrator of the New York Times bestselling movable book, The Wheels on the Bus. Most recently, he illustrated Emily Jenkins's All-of-a-Kind Family Hanukkah, which received six starred reviews and was hailed as "dazzling" by The New York Times. Paul lives in New York with his wife.