Margarita Engle is a poet and novelist whose work has been published in many countries. Her books include The Surrender Tree, a Newbery Honor book and winner of the Jane Addams Children's Book Award, the Pura Belpré Award, the Américas Award, and the Claudia Lewis Poetry Award; The Poet Slave of Cuba, winner of the Pura Belpré Award and the Américas Award; and Hurricane Dancers, winner of the Pura Belpré Award.
Olga and Aleksey Ivanov immigrated to the United States from Russia in 2002. The husband and wife team received a classical art education in Moscow and have collaborated on over 80 children's books, including The Tall Book of Mother Goose and Charlotte's Web. They live and work together in an artist studio near Denver, Colorado.