Kelly Rice Schmitt is an author of STEAM children's literature. She holds a B.B.A. in Finance and Chinese from the University of Notre Dame and is an advocate for girls in STEM, business, and other fields with gender gaps. She can be found in North Carolina helping other entrepreneurs grow their businesses, writing for children and exploring, singing, and creating with her husband and young children. Charles Santoso is the author-illustrator of Happy Hippo and has illustrated many books, including Ida, Always , and the New York Times bestsellers Wishtree and Odder books by Katherine Applegate. He moves around between different countries to live and work but calls Sydney, Australia home.