Cynthia Rylant has written many distinguished books for young readers, including the Newbery Medal winner Missing May, the Newbery Honor Book A Fine White Dust, the Caldecott Honor Book The Relatives Came (illustrated by Stephen Gammell), and the Caldecott Honor Book When I Was Young in the Mountains (illustrated by Diane Goode). She is also the author of the popular beginning-reader series Henry and Mudge, Poppleton, and Mr. Putter and Tabby. She lives in Oregon.
Frances McDormand is one of the few performers who has achieved the Triple Crown of Acting. She received the Academy Award for Best Actress for Fargo in 1997, the Tony Award for Best Actress for Good People in 2011, and the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress for Olive Kitteridge in 2015. She has won or been nominated for dozens of other awards across a long and successful career on stage and screen. She is married to writer/director Joel Coen, and has starred in several of the Coen brothers' films.