Cao Wenxuan grew up in rural China and is now a professor of Chinese literature and children's literature. He is the author of several celebrated books for young readers. His fluid, poetic prose depicts honest, sometimes raw, and often melancholy moments of life. He has also received significant recognition for his academic research and teaching in the field of children's literature, and he was the first Chinese author to win the Hans Christian Andersen Author Award. Yu Rong is a Chinese illustrator of children's picture books, especially known for her use of papercutting artwork. Born in China, she first trained as a primary school teacher, then studied for a BA in Chinese Painting and Contemporary Art Design (Nanjing Normal University's Art College) and an MA in Communication and Design (Royal College of Art, London). She now lives near Cambridge, UK. The Visible Sounds was shortlisted for the Yoto Carnegie Medal for Illustration in 2023.