Nina Jaffe teaches at the Bank Street College of Education. She has authored many books for young readers, including A Voice for the People: The Life and Work of Harold Courlander and Patakin: World Tales of Drums and Drummers.

Folklorist Steve Zeitlin is director of City Lore, which documents and presents the living cultural heritage of New York City. In addition to co-authoring The Cow of No Color: Riddle Stories and Justice Tales from Around the World, from which this selection comes, Jaffe and Zeitlan collaborated on the highly acclaimed While Standing on One Foot, which won the Anne Izard Storyteller's Choice Award and Belgium's prestigious Prix Versele.