Jim Aylesworth has written many books for young readers, including The Completed Hickory Dickory Dock and Mother Halverson's New Cat. Of The Goodnight Kiss, Booklist has said his "melodic story...with its strings of prepositional phrases and its elusive sense of connectedness will mesmerize kids." Mr. Aylesworth marks his proudest accomplishments as having been a first-grade teacher for nearly twenty-five years. He lives with his family in Hinsdale, Illinois.

Stephen Gammell is the beloved illustrator of more than fifty books for children, including Song and Dance Man by Karen Ackerman, which received the Caldecott Medal, and two Caldecott Honor Books: The Relatives Came by Cynthia Rylant, Where the Buffaloes Begin by Olaf Baker, and The Secret Science Project That Almost Ate Our School by Judy Sierra. Mr. Gammell lives with his wife, Linda, in St. Paul, Minnesota.