Eve Merriam (July 19, 1916 - April 11, 1992) was an American poet and writer. Her first book was entitled, Family Circle. She was born as Eva Moskovitz in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. After graduating with an A.B. from the Cornell University in 1937, Merriam moved to New York to pursue graduate studies at Columbia University. Her book, The Inner City Mother Goose, was described as one of the most banned books of the time. It inspired a 1971 Broadway musical called Inner City and a 1982 musical production called Street Dreams. Merriam won an Obie Award from the Village Voice in 1976 for her play, The Club. In 1981 she won the NCTE Award for Excellence in Poetry for Children. Merriam died on April 11, 1992, in Manhattan, NY from liver cancer.
Lane Smith was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma on August 25, 1959. He received a Bachelor of Fine Arts in illustration from Art Center, College of Design in Pasadena, California. He moved to New York City and was hired to do illustrations for various publications including Time, Mother Jones, and Ms.. He is a children's book author and an illustrator. His titles with Jon Scieszka have included the Caldecott Honor winner The Stinky Cheese Man, The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs, Math Curse, and Science Verse. He wrote and illustrated Madam President, John, Paul, George and Ben, The Happy Hocky Family, The Happy Hocky Family Moves to the Country, It's a Book, and Grandpa Green. His other high profile titles include Hooray for Diffendoofer Day! by Dr. Seuss and Jack Prelutsky, The Very Persistent Gappers of Frip by George Saunders, Big Plans by Bob Shea, and James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl. He also served as conceptual designer on the Disney film version of James and the Giant Peach, Monsters, Inc. and the film adaptation of How the Grinch Stole Christmas! In 2017, he was awarded the Kate Greenway Medal for children¿s book illustration for There is a Tribe of Kids.
