Ellen Raskin had three names. She wrote and illustrated many books under her first two names: Ellen Raskin. At other times she was known as Mrs. Flanagan because she was married to Dennis Flanagan, former editor of Scientific American , who dumped her out of a sailboat on their honeymoon. Ellen Raskin was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and grew up during the Great Depression. She was the author of several other novels, including the Newbery Medal-winning The Westing Game, the Newbery Honor-winning Figgs & Phantoms , The Mysterious Disappearance of Leon (I Mean Noel), and The Tattooed Potato and other clues. She also wrote and illustrated many picture books and was an accomplished graphic artist. She designed dust jackets for dozens of books, including the first edition of Madeline L'Engle's classic A Wrinkle in Time .

Ms. Raskin died at the age of fifty-six on August 8, 1984, in New York City. The word-pictures were drawn and lettered by the author in pen and ink. The display type is Craw Clarendon Condensed, and the text type is Times Roman.