First published in 1967, The Mouse and His Child was Russell Hoban’s first full-length novel for readers of any age. In a career spanning four decades and more than sixty books, he has written such children’s classics as Bedtime for Frances and The Marzipan Pig, adult fiction including Riddley Walker and Turtle Diary, and several collections of poetry and essays.

David Small calls The Mouse and His Child “one of the reasons I went into children’s literature. If books like this were possible, I wanted to help make them.” Many other stories and illustrations came first, however, including his own Imogene’s Antlers and Paper John, as well as pictures for stories written by his wife, Sarah Stewart. These include The Library and The Gardener, which was a Caldecott Honor Book. David won the 2001 Caldecott Medal for So You Want To Be President? by Judith St. George. David and Sarah live in a village on a river in Michigan.