Kate DiCamillo

is the author of the novels Because of Winn-Dixie, a Newbery Honor winner; The Tiger Rising, a National Book Award Finalist; The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane; The Magician’s Elephant; and Flora & Ulysses: The Illuminated Adventures, a Newbery Medal winner. When asked about the inspiration for The Tale of Despereaux, she says, “My best friend’s son asked me if I would write a story for him. ‘It’s about an unlikely hero,’ he said, ‘one with exceptionally large ears.’ ‘What happens to this hero?’ I asked. ‘I don’t know,’ he said. ‘That’s why I want you to write the story, so we can find out.’ Kate DiCamillo is also the author of a picture book, Great Joy; the Mercy Watson and Tales from Deckawoo Drive series for beginning readers; and, with Alison McGhee, the three Bink and Gollie books, also for beginning readers. She lives in Minneapolis.

Timothy Basil Ering

is the author and illustrator of The Story of Frog Belly Rat Bone and Necks Out for Adventure!, and The Almost Fearless Hamilton Squidlegger. His artwork has also appeared in magazines, theater sets, private murals, and fine art galleries. He says, “My mother may have been a mouse in her past life, as I watched her save and help so many mice in our house growing up. The illustrations I’ve done of Despereaux Tilling are, in a way, my tribute to her.”