Born in Fresno, California, to Mexican American parents, Gary Soto is an acclaimed poet, essayist, and fiction writer. The awards for this multitalented author are many, ranging from the US Award for International Poetry Forum to a Before Columbus Foundation American Book Award, and was nominated for a National Book Award. His other credits include fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the California Arts Council. When he is not writing, Mr. Soto serves as a volunteer English teacher at his church. He lives with his wife, Carolyn, and their daughter, Mariko, in Berkeley, California.

Joe Cepeda is an illustrator and artist from Los Angeles. After completing his degree at Long Beach State University, he moved to New York and began illustrating books, including A Girl, A Boy, and a Monster Cat and The Old Man and His Door. He now lives in California with his family and is the president of the Society of Illustrators of Los Angeles.