Washington Irving was born in 1783 in New York City. In addition to writing fiction, Irving studied law, worked for his family's business in England and wrote essays for periodicals.

Some of his most famous tales, including Rip Van Winkle and The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, were first published under the pseudonym Geoffrey Crayon.

Dan Gutman is the author of many books for children, including the My Weird School series, the Flashback Four series, and the New York Times bestselling Genius Files series.

Thanks to his many fans who voted in their classrooms, he has received nineteen state book awards and ninety-two state book award nominations. Dan lives in New York, NY, with his wife, Nina.