Harriet Ziefert is the founder and publisher of Blue Apple Books, an award-winning children's publishing firm, as well as a prolific children's book author. Ziefert, a pioneer in the leveled-reader genre, is the author of many Step into Reading books, including the best-selling Sleepy Dog. Norman Gorbaty was a legendary art director for the legendary advertising agency Benton & Bowles, where he designed classic campaigns for Crest, Post cereals, and the IBM Selectric typewriter, as well as breakthrough Time magazine covers, throughout a fifty-year career. Gorbaty's early career as a fine artist saw him exhibit his work at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City after he graduated from Yale. Gorbaty is still a well-known painter and sculptor, as well as the illustrator of various children's books, including Sleepy Dog.