Librarian Nancy Allen is devoted to celebrating the unique attractions of Southern culture. She earned a BA in psychology at the University of Washington and a teaching certificate for special education and educational psychology at Saint Martin's College. A talented musician, Allen is a member of the American Library Association, the Arkansas Library Association, and several community arts organizations. She and her husband live in Conway, Arkansas, a place very close to Cyndi Lou's hometown. Joan C. Waites has illustrated over thirty-five books for the educational and trade marketplace, including two previous books for Pelican: Moon's Cloud Blanket and The Waving Girl. Waites lives and works in Silver Spring, Maryland, with her husband, Gerard, and their three children.