Mitchell Sharmat, a graduate of Harvard University, has written numerous picture books, easy readers, and novels, and was a contributor to many textbook reading programs. He was best known for the classic Gregory, the Terrible Eater, which was a Reading Rainbow Feature Selection and a New York Times Critics’ Pick. In Mitchell’s honor, The Sharmat Collection displaying the books he wrote, was established at the Harvard Graduate School of Education by the Monroe C. Gutman Library.

Renée Kurilla is an illustrator of many books for kids, including Orangutanka: A Story in Poems by Margarita Engle, The Owls of Blossom Wood series by Catherine Coe, and the Ada Lace Adventure series by Emily Calandrelli. She has written a few books as well, including the picture book One Springy, Singy Day and the graphic novel The Flower Garden. She currently lives in Bellingham, Massachusetts, with her illustrator husband Keith Zoo, their six-year-old daughter Zoey, and Yoshi the fish. Visit her at Kurillastration.com.