Leo (March 2, 1933 – May 26, 2012) and Diane Dillon (née Sorber; born March 13, 1933) were an American husband and wife team of illustrators. They won two consecutive Caldecott Medals (for Why Mosquitoes Buzz In People's Ears and Ashanti To Zulu: African Traditions); the couple remain the only two individuals to have won two consecutive Cadlecott Medals.

Leo Dillon, of Trinidadian immigrant parentage, was born and raised in East New York, Brooklyn, New York and Diane Sorber hails from the Greater Los Angeles Area. Leo enlisted in the Navy for three years' service so that he could attend art school. The couple met met at the Parsons School of Design in New York City in 1953; they graduated in 1956 and married the next year. They describe their work as incorporating motifs derived from their respective heritages. They have worked on both on children's literature and adult paperbacks. An association with writer Harlan Ellison led to jobs doing book covers for his short story collections and both cover and interior woodcut illustration for his anthology Dangerous Visions. They illustrated a large number of book covers for the original Ace Science Fiction Specials. A detailed biography and introduction to their work and styles was written by Byron Preiss in a book he edited in 1981, entitled The Art of Leo & Diane Dillon.^{[citation needed]}

Katherine Paterson (born October 31, 1932) is an American author of children's novels. She wrote Bridge to Terabithia and has received several of the major international awards for children's literature.

She was born Katherine Womeldorf in Qingjiang, China, to Christian missionaries George and Mary Womeldorf. Her father was a principal at Sutton 690, a school for girls, and traveled throughout China as part of his missionary duties. The Womeldorf family lived in a Chinese neighborhood and immersed themselves in Chinese culture. When Katherine was five years old, the family was forced to leave China during the Japanese invasion of 1937. The family moved to Richmond, Virginia for a short while before returning to China to live in Shanghai. In 1940, the family was forced to flee again, this time to North Carolina.

The Womeldorf family moved 13 times between 1937 and 1950 because of George Womeldorf's work and also because of the war in China. Katherine was always the newcomer and never fit in very well, perhaps in part due to her British accent and secondhand clothing. She was lonely during this time and turned to writing to deal with her loneliness. While in school, she wrote many plays in which her peers acted.

Laura Elizabeth Ingalls Wilder (February 7, 1867 – February 10, 1957) was an American author who wrote the Little House series of books based on her childhood in a pioneer family. Laura's daughter, Rose, inspired Laura to write her books.

Laura Elizabeth Ingalls was born February 7, 1867, seven miles north of the village of Pepin, in the "Big Woods" of Wisconsin, to Charles Phillip Ingalls and Caroline Lake (Quiner) Ingalls. She was the second of five children; her siblings were Mary Amelia, who went blind;Caroline Celestia, Charles Frederick, who died in infancy, and Grace Pearl. Her birth site is commemorated by a log cabin, the Little House Wayside. Her life here formed the basis for the book Little House in the Big Woods. (See the book entry for more information.)

A paternal ancestor was Edmund Ingalls born June 27, 1586 in Skirbeck, Lincolnshire, England. He died on September 16, 1648 in Lynn, Massachusetts. She is also a descendant of the Delaney family[1] and Edmund Rice, a 1638 immigrant to Massachusetts Bay Colony.

Mem Fox, AM (born Merrion Frances Partridge on 5 March 1946) is an Australian writer of children's books and an educationalist specialising in literacy. Fox is semi-retired and lives in Adelaide.

In 1981, while working in drama, Fox decided to retrain in literacy studies. She said: "Literacy has become the great focus of my life — it’s my passion, my battle and my mission and my exhaustion." She has published books on literacy aimed at children, their parents, teachers and educators. She held the position of Associate Professor, Literacy Studies, in the School of Education at Flinders University until her retirement in 1996. Since her retirement from teaching, Fox travels around the world visiting many countries and doing presentations and speaking on children's books and literacy issues.

Fox wrote her first draft for the internationally acclaimed Possum Magic in 1978 during a course in children’s literature at Flinders University. Nine publishers rejected the draft over a five year period. When it was accepted by Omnibus Books in Adelaide they asked Fox to reduce the 4½ page book, then entitled Hush the Invisible Mouse, by two thirds and to change the mice to Australian animals to place emphasis on her Australian theme. Possum Magic is now one of the most recognised picture books in Australia and has sold over 3 million copies worldwide.^{[citation needed]}

Sir Elton Hercules John, CBE (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight on 25 March 1947) is an English rock singer-songwriter, composer, pianist and occasional actor. He has worked with lyricist Bernie Taupin as his songwriter partner since 1967; they have collaborated on more than 30 albums to date.

In his four-decade career John has sold more than 250 million records, making him one of the most successful artists of all time. His single "Candle in the Wind 1997" has sold over 33 million copies worldwide, and is the best selling single in Billboard history. He has more than 50 Top 40 hits, including seven consecutive No. 1 US albums, 56 Top 40 singles, 16 Top 10, four No. 2 hits, and nine No. 1 hits. He has won six Grammy Awards, four Brit Awards, an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award and a Tony Award. In 2004, Rolling Stone ranked him Number 49 on its list of the 100 greatest artists of all time.

John was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994. Having been named a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1996, John received a knighthood from Queen Elizabeth II for "services to music and charitable services" in 1998.