George Stanley was a Professor of African and Middle-Eastern Languages and Linguistics at Cameron University. In between prepping class lectures and grading papers, he found the time to write for children. He was also the author of Night Fires and the Third-Grade Detectives series. Meryl Henderson is a graduate of Syracuse University. In 1974, she graduated summa cum laude with a bachelor of fine arts degree. For over forty years, she has been working as a freelance illustrator, specializing in artwork for children. She has illustrated more than a hundred books and has contributed illustrations to countless magazines and educational books. She currently lives in Catskill, New York.