Watty Piper was a pen name of Arnold Munk, an owner of the publishing firm Platt & Munk. Arnold Munk was born in Hungary and, as a child, moved with his family to Chicago. He later moved to New York, where he died in 1957. Arnold Munk used the name Watty Piper as both an author of children's books and as the editor of many of the books that Platt & Munk published. Jill Howarth is a children's illustrator with a background in toys. With a degree in graphic design and a former art director for Hasbro, Jill has been freelancing with children's books, fabric design, and stationery for the past few years. Her clients include Chronicle, Running Press, Seal Press, Yoyo Books, Walter Foster, Pier One, Papyrus, Cottage Door Press, Scholastic, among others.