Margaret McManis, a former children's librarian, serves as a guest lecturer at schools, museums, libraries, and bookstores. She spent her childhood only a short ride away from the Varner-Hogg Plantation in West Columbia, Texas, where her first Pelican book, The Wild Texas Stampede!, is set. A graduate of the Vermont MFA Writing for Children and Young Adults Program and a member of the Writers' League of Texas, Texas State Historical Association, and Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators, McManis lives with her family and dog in Conroe, Texas. David Harrington's affinity for art began at a young age, when he drew on everything-except paper. Since receiving a BFA from the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California, he has illustrated numerous children's books, including Pelican's Pecos Bill Invents the Ten-Gallon Hat, winner of the WWA Spur Award, Chachalaca Chiquita, Ole! Cinco de Mayo!, and The Boy Who Wouldn't Read.