Nancy Loewen is an award-winning author who has written over 130 fiction and nonfiction titles for children and young adults, including Baby Wants Mama , Do I Have To?: Kids Talk About Responsibility , and Scarlett the Cat to the Rescue: Fire Hero . She received a Distinguished Achievement Award from the Association of Educational Publishers for her Writer's Toolbox series. Her book The Last Day of Kindergarten is a Scholastic Book Club bestseller and a Minnesota Book Award Finalist. She holds an MFA in creative writing from Hamlin University, St. Paul, and lives in the Twin Cities. Learn more at www.nancyloewen.net.

Elisa Paganelli attended the Art Institute in her hometown of Modena, Italy before progressing to the European Institute of Design in Turin, where she studied illustration. She worked as a graphic designer for several years and set up her own award-winning design studio, Teapot Graphic Design, before following her true passion for illustration. She likes to draw accompanied by a cup of tea and her beloved pet-assistants.