Emily Dickinson (1830 - 1886) lived in almost complete isolation from the outside world, but maintained many correspondences and read widely.

Upon her death, Dickinson's family discovered 40 handbound volumes of her poems, which she had assembled herself.

Tim Hopgood was six years old when he first heard Louis Armstrong's recording of "What a Wonderful World." Years later his daughter found a recording of the song in a flea market and gave it to him as a present.

As soon as he heard Louis Armstrong's gravelly voice sing the first few lines, he knew he wanted to capture the joy of the song in a picture book.