Cynthia Zarin is a staff writer at The New Yorker magazine and an Artist-in-Residence at the Cathedral of Saint John the Divine in New York City.

She is the author of several books of poetry and four picture books for children: Rose and Sebastian; What Do You See When You Shut Your Eyes?; Wallace Hoskins, the Boy Who Grew Down; and Albert, the Dog Who Liked to Ride in Taxis. She lives with her family in Manhattan. Leonid Gore moved to the United States from his native Russia in 1991. He has illustrated many children's picture books, and lives with his wife and daughter in Brooklyn.