Joan Sweeney grew up in Toledo, Ohio. She used to spend Saturday mornings taking free art classes at the Toledo Museum of Art. She has three "grown-up" children and five grandchildren. She wrote many more books after she first wrote Me on the Map. Joan Sweeney died in March 2017.

Emma Trithart grew up in Michigan, only moving to pursue a degree in illustration from the Minneapolis College of Art and Design. In 2014, after many wonderful years in Minnesota, Emma waved goodbye to the snow and drove across the country to Los Angeles, where she lives today.