Winsome Bingham is a soul food connoisseur, master cook, US Army war and disabled veteran, and the author of one of the New York Times Best Books of the Year, Soul Food Sunday (illustrated by C.G. Esperanza), as well as The Walk (illustrated by E.B. Lewis). She received both bachelor's and master's degrees in education and has more than 15 years of teaching experience. She lives in Connecticut. Rahele Jomepour Bell , an Iranian American picture book creator, graduated from Iowa State University with an MFA in integrated visual arts.

She received an Illustration Mentorship Award from We Need Diverse Books and was awarded both the Portfolio Award Grand Prize and the Social Media Mentorship Award for Illustrators at the SCBWI National Conference. Her inspiration comes mostly from her childhood and Friday night family gatherings at her grandparents' house and illustrated books from around the world. She is happiest creating illustrations that send the imagination flying, offer a new look at an old idea, and reassure the viewer of their place in this world. Rahele now lives in the beautiful tiny city of Ames, Iowa, with her husband and her little girl, Darya, and works as a freelance illustrator in her home studio.