Dimitrije Sidjanski (also known as Mischa Damjan) was born in 1914 in Skopje, Macedonia (formerly Yugoslavia). He grew up in Belgrade and studied there before going to Paris to pursue a degree in law. Later he became a lawyer. In 1945 he escaped from captivity in Germany and fled to Switzerland, where he began to write short stories and novels. In 1949 he got to know his future wife, Brigitte Sidjanski, and in 1961 the two of them together founded NordSüd Verlag. In 1979 Dimitrije retired from the company in order to devote himself completely to writing. He died in 1998 at the age of eighty-four. 

Torben Kuhlmann was born in Germany in 1982. Highly creative as a young child, Torben was recognized as early as kindergarten for being a gifted draftsman. He was captivated by small airplanes, strange machines, and steaming trains; these elements made their way into his drawings. He studied illustration and design at the Hamburg University for Applied Sciences. His preferred media are pen and watercolor. He also works with acrylics, oil paints, and digital programs. He works as a freelance illustrator in Hamburg. His books Lindbergh: The Tale of a Flying Mouse, Moletown, and Armstrong: The Adventurous Journey of a Mouse to the Moon quickly became best sellers and owe their inventiveness to Torben’s great enthusiasm for unusual mechanical inventions. Edison: The Mystery of the Missing Mouse Treasure, his fourth picture book for NorthSouth Books, was chosen as a 2019 Batchelder Honor.