Carson Ellis is the author and illustrator of bestselling picture books Home and Du Iz Tak? (a Caldecott Honor book) and the illustrator of a number of books for children, including The Mysterious Benedict Society series by Trenton Lee Stewart, The Composer Is Dead by Lemony Snicket, and the Wildwood Chronicles by her husband, Colin Meloy. She has won awards for illustration and is the illustrator-in-residence for Colin's band, The Decemberists, for which she has received Grammy nominations for album art design. She does work for The New Yorker, the New York Times, and other publications. Ellis lives on a farm in Oregon.