Marjorie Flack first got the idea for her classic story from her first book, written by her friend Helen Lomen. The Peking ducks in Angus and the Ducks so intrigued her that she began researching them. The Story About Ping was the result. She went on to write and illustrate many more children’s stories, including Boats on the River, illustrated by Jay Hyde Barnum, which was named a Caldecott Honor Book. Ms. Flack died in 1958.