Lauren Child attended art school and did "lots of other things" before writing CLARICE BEAN, THAT'S ME. She designed ceramics for children, worked as an artist's assistant, and created lampshades for her own company. About the inspiration for this book—her first for Candlewick Press—she says, "I grew up with an older sister who read a lot and a younger sister who I had to share a room with whenever we had visitors (which was a lot, and my sister was very untidy, and guess who had to clean up the mess.)"