As the son of two teachers, Jean-François Sénéchal grew up around books. After studying anthropology for a time, he ultimately gravitated back to his first love, devoting himself entirely to literature. His stories--exploring societal issues such as exclusion and inequality for audiences of children and adolescents--have garnered him various honors, including the 2017 Joseph S. Stauffer Prize from the Canada Council for the Arts, and a Governor General's Award for children's literature. Simone Rea is an accomplished artist and illustrator who creates works for children's books, magazines, and other publications. A graduate of the Fine Arts Academy in Rome, he has twice been selected for the Bologna Illustrators Exhibition and was awarded a BIB Plaque at the Biennial of Illustrations Bratislava. He lives and works in his home municipality of Albano-Laziale, Italy.