Ethel Claire Brill was educated at the University of Minnesota, and even then was a book reviewer for a local newspaper, a precursor of her lifelong interest in books and media.
Seredy (Serédy Kató) was a gifted writer and illustrator, born in Hungary, who moved to the United States in 1922. Seredy received a diploma to teach art from the Academy of Arts in Budapest. During World War I Seredy travelled to Paris and worked as a combat nurse. After the war she illustrated several books in Hungary. She is best known for The Good Master, written in 1935, and for the Newbery Award winner, The White Stag.
Forbes, born Kathryn Anderson, was the granddaughter of Norwegian immigrants. She was a writer best known for Mama's Bank Account, a fictionalized memoir about a Norwegian family in 1920s San Francisco. The book focused on the warmhearted family and its struggles and dreams. The book inspired first a play, then a movie, and finally a TV series, all called I Remember Mama.
Forbes also published novel called Transfer Point, about a daughter of divorced parents. This was considered to have been based on Forbes' own childhood.
