Johnette Downing is an award-winning and internationally recognized singer and songwriter. Her many accolades include eight Parents' Choice Awards, four iParenting Media Awards, and five National Parenting Publication Awards. She wrote and/or illustrated There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed Some Bugs, Why the Crawfish Lives in the Mud, How to Dress a Po' Boy, Why the Oyster Has the Pearl, Why the Possum Has a Large Grin, Macarooned on a Dessert Island, The Fifolet, and other Pelican titles. Downing lives in New Orleans, Louisiana. Author and illustrator Deborah Kadair Thomas resurrects the funky spirits of the Crescent City by crafting distinctive cut-paper collages, an illustration technique she has used in many of her popular books. She has lived all over the South and earned her bachelor of arts at Louisiana State University. For more than 20 years, Thomas has worked with young students in the classroom in both traditional and Montessori settings. She is a member of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators.