Luisa "Luli" Gray (1945-2017) was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina. She grew up in a bilingual family of readers, writers, and talkers, and though she always considered herself a writer--of mostly letters and comic verse--she did not begin writing fiction until 1987. After leaving her husband in 1971, she wandered all over Europe and Latin America, working as a barmaid, housemaid, short order cook, actress, singer, waitress, restaurant chef, and caterer before falling into food writing, more or less by accident. As an adult Luli lived in Boston and Greenwich Village for many years before moving to Chapel Hill, North Carolina, where she lived the rest of her life. Luli once said, "I write because it makes me happy, and I cannot think of a better way to make a living than by doing something I so dearly love." Her first novel, Falcon's Egg, was an ALA Notable Book.

Madelyn Goodnight knew during her time at the Rhode Island School of Design that she wanted to illustrate for kids. Growing up in Oklahoma gave her plenty of room to imagine, play, and dream about all the things she would experience when she grew up. Her family encouraged her to explore anything and everything and shared a deep connection to their Native American heritage that emphasized the magic of storytelling. With each new book or piece of art that she makes, she's always trying to convey that magic. Madie uses a wide range of media and outlets for her art so that is is as diverse, energetic, and playful as the children who are seeing it. She lives in Brooklyn, New York.