Nikki Grimes is the recipient of the Virginia Hamilton Lifetime Achievement Award, the ALAN Award for outstanding contributions to young adult literature, the Children's Literature Legacy Award, the Virginia Hamilton Literary Award, and the NCTE Award for Excellence in Poetry for Children. Her memoir, Ordinary Hazards, received both a Sibert and a Printz Honor. Other distinguished works include the Coretta Scott King Award winner Bronx Masquerade, and Coretta Scott King Author Honor books Jasmin’s Notebook, Talkin’ About Bessie, Dark Sons, Words with Wings, and The Road to Paris. She is also the creator of the popular Meet Danitra Brown. Ms. Grimes lives in Corona, California.

Jerry Pinkney was the author and illustrator of many books for young readers, including the Orbis Pictus Award winner A Place to Land and The Lion and the Mouse, for which he earned a Caldecott Medal. He received five Caldecott Honors, five Coretta Scott King Awards, four Coretta Scott King Honors, and five New York Times Best Illustrated Book awards. He died in 2021. 

Brian Pinkney is the son of Jerry Pinkney. He continued illustration of A Walk in the Woods after his father passed away, supplementing Jerry’s sketches with watercolor painting. He has illustrated many books for children, including Duke Ellington by his wife Andrea Pinkney, and The Faithful Friend by Robert D San Souci, both of which received Caldecott Honors. He also received the Coretta Scott King Book Award for In the Time of Drums by Kim L. Siegelson. He lives with his family in Brooklyn, New York.