DIVPatricia Reilly Giff (b. 1935) grew up in Brooklyn, New York. She is the author of the popular Polk Street Mystery series, as well as several award-winning novels for middle-grade readers. After graduating from Marymount College, Giff taught reading for twenty years before writing her first novel. Many of her books are ALA-ALSC Notable Children’s Books and ALA-YALSA Best Books for Young Adults, including Lily’s Crossing and Pictures of Hollis Woods, for which Giff won Newbery Honors. Giff lives in Weston, Connecticut, with her husband./divDIV /divBlanche Sims was born in Cleveland, Ohio. She has worked as an illustrator for young people’s art at Famous Artists School and later at Xerox in the art department. Then she became a children’s book illustrator. Among the many books she has illustrated is the Polk Street series. Sims lives in Sandy Hook, CT.