Amy Hest is a terrible artist. "Whenever children ask me why I don't illustrate my own books, I draw a dog for them. And they always say, 'Nice chicken, Mrs. Hest.' But I would love to be an artist, and perhaps that is why I wrote a story about someone who draws." Amy Hest lives in New York City. Sheila White Samton also lives in New York City, half a block from Amy Hest. "We didn't know each other before the book. But now we run into each other all the time." She says that "it is a challenge and a pleasure to illustrate a book about someone who draws. It requires envisioning not only the person and her life, but how her life and character are revealed in her drawings."