Arthur Yorinks is the author of nearly thirty-five acclaimed and award-winning books, including Hey, Al, a children's book that won the Caldecott Medal in 1987. He has also written and directed for opera, theater, dance, film, and radio. Yorinks began studying classical piano at the age of six with former Juilliard professor Robert Bedford. Yorinks began writing and working in the performing arts at the age of 17, diverting away from a possible career as a classical pianist. Yorinks worked as the librettist for Philip Glass' operas The Juniper Tree and The Fall of the House of Usher. He has collaborated with numerous well-known artists over the course of his forty-year career in picture books, including Maurice Sendak, William Steig, Mort Drucker, David Small, and Richard Egielski.

Mommy, what's the title of his book? Yorinks is still writing and directing in New York City.