Laurie Keller is the acclaimed author-illustrator of a number of books, including Do Unto Otters, The Scrambled States of America, and Open Wide: Tooth School Within. She was born and raised in Muskegon, Michigan, and has always enjoyed drawing, painting, and writing stories. She graduated with a B.F.A. She studied art and design at Kendall College of Art and Design and then worked as a greeting card illustrator for Hallmark for seven and a half years, until one night she had an idea for a children's book. She quit her job, relocated to New York City, and published her first novel shortly after. She enjoyed her time in New York, but she has now returned to her home state of Michigan, where she lives in a small cottage in the woods on Lake Michigan's shore.