The Day of Ahmed's Secret

Florence Parry Heide (1919–2011) was the author of more than 100 children’s books, including picture books, juvenile novels, two series of young adult mysteries, plays, songbooks, and poetry. She may be best remembered for her now-classic The Shrinking of Treehorn and its two sequels, illustrated by the great Edward Gorey. Florence grew up in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, married during World War Two, and spent her adult life in Kenosha, Wisconsin, with her husband and five children, all of whom grew up listening to the joyful sounds of an old typewriter.

Ted Lewin grew up in Buffalo, New York, and now lives in New York City. His career as an artist began with illustrations for adventure magazines, but over the last thirty-five years he has devoted all of his time to writing and illustrating children’s books. An avid traveler, many of Ted’s books have been inspired by his trips to places such as the Amazon River, the Sahara Desert, Botswana, Egypt, Lapland, and India. His illustrations in Peppe the Lamplighter by Elise Bartone were awarded a Caldecott Honor. Ted and his wife Betsy Lewin, the illustrator of Click Clack Moo and other titles, live in Brooklyn, New York.