Orbis Pictus Honoree Barb Rosenstock grew up in a rural suburb south of Chicago. She married and raised two sons who loved picture books, so Barb read thousands of them. She started writing for children while finishing a Master's Degree in teaching.
Melanie Hall grew up in Manchester-By-the-Sea, Massachusetts. She attended the Rhode Island School of Design and Pratt Institute, receiving her B.F.A. from Pratt Institute. She went on to earn her Master's Degree at Marywood University in Scranton, Pennsylvania, where she studied children's book illustration. She is the illustrator of over twenty-five children's books.