Paul Goble was born in Haslemere, Surrey, England on September 27, 1933. He was a sharpshooter in the British military from 1951 to 1953. In 1959, he received a National Diploma in Design, with honors, from the Central School of Arts and Crafts in London. While working in freelance industrial design and teaching at Ravensbourne College of Art and Design, he and his first wife Dorothy Lee wrote four picture books. In 1977, he decided to become a full-time author and illustrator and accepted a position as the artist-in-residence at Mount Rushmore National Memorial. He and Lee divorced in 1978. He was best known for his picture books inspired by Native American culture and lore including Buffalo Woman, Iktomi and the Boulder: A Plains Indian Story, and Crow Chief: A Plains Indian Story. He received the Caldecott Medal in 1979 for The Girl Who Loved Wild Horses. He died from Parkinson's disease on January 5, 2017 at the age of 83.