Kelly Murphy is an American author, illustrator and educator. She graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in illustration. The Boll Weevil Ball was her first picture book. Since then, she has illustrated more than 40 books for children including A Place To Grow, Dancing Matilda, Good Babies, Fiona's Luck, Together We Grow and Faraway Things, to name a few. She lives in Providence, Rhode Island.