Magdeleine Lerasle is an early childhood educator and researcher specializing in teaching language to children in Paris. She is also the author of Songs in the Shade of the Olive Tree. Aurélia Fronty is a graduate from the Duperré School of Graphic Arts in France. She has illustrated more than 40 books for children, including I Have the Right to Be a Child, which was nominated to the USBBY Outstanding International Book Honour List and Wangari Maathai, winner in the "Best Book" category at the Children's Africana Book Awards.