Julius Lester (born January 27, 1939) also known as Julius Bernard Lester or by his Hebrew name Yaakov Daniel, is an award winning American author of books for children and adults, and was an occasionally controversial professor at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.

Lester is Black and Jewish. He has recorded two albums of folk music.

Sheldon Alan "Shel" Silverstein (September 25, 1930 – May 10, 1999) was an American poet, songwriter, musician, composer, cartoonist, screenwriter and author of children's books. He sometimes styled himself as Uncle Shelby especially for his early children's books.

Silverstein confirmed he never studied the poetry of others, and therefore developed his own style: laid-back and conversational, occasionally employing profanity, and slang.

Lisa Anne Loeb (born 11 March 1968) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. In 1994, she had her first hit with the song "Stay (I Missed You)". The song today still remains her biggest hit and most well-known song. Recently, she has moved into other endeavors, such as television. In 2006, she had her own reality TV show on the E! channel.