The Not-So-Itsy-Bitsy Spider

Joe McGee (1972–2025) always loved to write about monsters and magic and other strange, curious, and quirky things. He grew up with his nose in a book and his imagination exploring other worlds. He knew when he was ten years old that one day he would grow up to be an author! He earned an MFA in writing for children and young adults from the Vermont College of Fine Arts and a master of arts in writing from Rowan University. A former Army officer, Joe lived in many places, including New Jersey and West Virginia with his wife, Jessica Rinker (who is also a children’s author), and their two dogs, Pepper and Odin.

Teo Skaffa currently lives in Italy but is from a village in the Netherlands which you’ve probably never heard of, and for good reason. He loves music, video games, cinema, and swimming. He hates drawing in accurate perspective and room temperature watermelon (cold is fine though, delicious even). Coming from a traditional background, he now focuses on digital illustration and storytelling. Most of his inspiration comes from that short moment when you wake up and don’t quite understand what is happening yet, where he sees brief flashes of images and ideas which he turns into colorful illustrations.