Nicole Castrovinci was born and raised in the suburbs of New Jersey just outside of New York City. A child of the 1970s, when she wasn’t roaming freely about the neighborhood with friends, Nicole loved to write. She filled up a dozen diaries, wrote to pen pals from around the world, and submitted poems for publication in local newspapers. Many years later, with a master’s degree in Counseling Psychology, Nicole is still happiest when she is writing – especially with a cat curled up on her lap.

At the start of her training at the art academy, Dutch illustrator Madelon Koelinga didn’t want to illustrate children’s books. She felt that it was too obvious of a choice. Luckily, she changed her mind 4 years later and wrote and illustrated her first picture book for Clavis Publishing. Madelon now can’t imagine doing anything else in all the world.