Denize Lauture was born in Haiti, the first of thirteen children. He emigrated to the United States when he was twenty-two and worked as a welder in Harlem while attending evening classes at the City College of New York, where he earned his bachelor’s in sociology and master’s in bilingual education. He has worked as a professor, consultant on Haitian culture and language, and children’s book writer.

Reynold Ruffins is a graduate of The Cooper Union and a recipient of its most prestigious honor, The Augustus Saint-Gaudens Award for outstanding professional achievement in arts. Ruffins has taught art and design at many different schools and completed commissions for several clients, including IBM, AT&T, Coca-Cola, and The New York Times. Ruffins has illustrated over fifteen children’s books and earned a Coretta Scott King Award for Running the Road to ABC.