Smith, Roland: - Roland Smith is the New York Times bestselling author of more than forty books for young people. Among his books are the I, Q series, Peak, Beneath, Above, Zach's Lie, the Cryptid Hunters series, Storm Runners, The Switch, and Elephant Run. Before becoming a full-time writer, he spent more than twenty years working with wildlife all over the world. He was a zookeeper, zoo curator, assistant zoo director, and research biologist. He was instrumental in reintroducing the red wolf back into the wild, and he was a consultant on the Yellowstone National Park gray wolf translocation. Roland and his wife, Marie, split their time between Bentonville, Arkansas, and their small farm near Portland, Oregon.

Smith, Marie: -

Author Marie Smith was born and raised in Oregon. She lives on a small farm outside of Portland that she shares with a horse, a goat, two dogs, two cats, and another author, Roland Smith. Together Marie and Roland have written five alphabet books. Besides visiting schools and writing, she spends time traveling across country visiting her four grandsons.

Gibson, Barbara Leonard: -

Barbara Leonard Gibson received her B.F.A. from Carnegie Mellon University. She illustrated more than three dozen books including The Nutmeg Adventure; A Picture-Perfect World; Let's Explore a Tropical Forest; Hide & Seek; the National Geographic Society's award-winning pop-up book, Creatures of the Desert World; and the six-book collection, The Little Learner's Library I. She also illustrated Patricia Cornwell's Life's Little Fable and best-selling children's author Audrey Penn's The Whistling Tree and A Pocket Full of Kisses.

An ardent environmentalist, she specialized in horse, wildlife and nature illustration. Barbara passed away in 2018, but she was often found either at the small farm where her two horses are boarded, or at a therapeutic riding center where she volunteers her time. She and her composer husband, Robert, lived in Olney, Maryland with their dog, Sadie. Their grown daughter Caitlin lives nearby.