Alice Schertle has written numerous books and poems for children. Among her most popular works are Down the Road, an ALA Notable Children's Book, and All You Need for a Snowman, winner of the Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Gold Award. Schertle's lifelong interest in human origins and her extensive reading on the subject were the inspiration for this book. She lives in Plainfield, Massachusetts.

Kenneth Addison was a full-time visual artist and art educator. His distinctive fine art collages focus on African American life and culture and incorporate fabrics, batik-processed Japanese papers, oil pastels, and more. Addison was drawn to this book by his love of history and his curiosity about how human societies came into existence. He passed away in 2005, shortly after finishing the illustrations for We.