Author and illustrator Barbara Linick was born and raised in Manhattan and wrote her first fantasy novel, The Five Blintzes, at age eight. It's been her favorite genre ever since. Leaving home at 16, she cultivated her love of travel with solo sojourns across the United States, Europe, and North Africa. Linick was the second woman to drive a horse-and-buggy in NYC's Central Park and was captive one Christmas month in an Arab women's prison. She crewed across the Atlantic on a 55-foot sailboat and, when the ship was becalmed, she went for a swim in waters two and a half miles deep. These experiences and many more enriched her with both the foolishness and the wisdom towrite this tale. Author and illustrator Barbara Linick was born and raised in Manhattan and wrote her first fantasy novel, The Five Blintzes, at age eight. It's been her favorite genre ever since. Leaving home at 16, she cultivated her love of travel with solo sojourns across the United States, Europe, and North Africa. Linick was the second woman to drive a horse-and-buggy in NYC's Central Park and was captive one Christmas month in an Arab women's prison. She crewed across the Atlantic on a 55-foot sailboat and, when the ship was becalmed, she went for a swim in waters two and a half miles deep. These experiences and many more enriched her with both the foolishness and the wisdom towrite this tale.