Kelly Starling Lyons (kellystarlinglyons.com) is the author of the picture books Hope's Gift, Tea Cakes for Tosh, and Ellen's Broom, as well as the Jada Jones chapter book series. Her articles and essays have appeared in many publications, including Ebony magazine, the News & Observer, the Christian Science Monitor, and books in the Chicken Soup for the Soul series. She lives in North Carolina.

Keith Mallett (keithmallett.com) also illustrated Take a Picture of Me, James VanDerZee and How Jelly Roll Morton Invented Jazz. He studied art at Hunter College in New York City, and was the in-house artist for Frontline Art Publishers for fifteen years. His work was commissioned to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Jackie Robinson's historic breakthrough into major league baseball, has graced the cover of Chicken Soup for the African American Soul, and has been featured in many movies and TV shows. Both Franklin Mint and Lenox Collections have created collectibles of his work.