Margaret Read MacDonald is a storyteller, author, folklorist, and children's librarian, whom School Library Journal has called "a grand dame of storytelling." Ms. MacDonald is the author of numerous books, including pickin' peas, illustrated by Pat Cummings, and the award-winning book The Parents' Guide to Storytelling. She lives in Kirkland, Washington. Mary Newell DePalma is the illustrator of many picture books, including Knock! Knock! by Jan Wahl, My Chair by Betsy James, and her own The Strange Egg. Ms. DePalma lives in Boston, Massachusetts.