Growing up in the Midwest, Lisa Campbell Ernst enjoyed traveling with her family to the Gulf Coast and other popular vacation spots. Today she continues to appreciate the summer sand and sea when she takes her own family to the shore. Lisa Campbell Ernst has written and illustrated over twenty picture books, including Stella Louella's Runaway Book, which won the Children's Choice Award in Kansas, and the ever-popular Sam Johnson and the Blue Ribbon Quilt. She lives with her husband and two daughters in Kansas City, Missouri.