David Ezra Stein

Stein was born in Brooklyn, New York.^[5] His father was a cartographer, and his mother was a painter and editor, both of which inspired him as an artist.^[6] He attended the Parsons School of Design,^[7] where he majored in editorial illustration.^[8] While studying, he took a year off, during which he lived in Cape Cod and explored puppetry.^[6]

Stein's books have been translated in Chinese, Korean, Japanese, Spanish, Catalan, Dutch, French, and Finnish,^[5] and his artwork has appeared in The New York Times and The New Yorker, among other major publications.^[8]

Stein has a wife and two children. They live in Kew Gardens, Queens.^[9]

Six of Stein's books are Junior Library Guild selections: Leaves (2007),^[10] Interrupting Chicken (2010),^[11] Dinosaur Kisses (2013),^[12] Ol’ Mama Squirrel (2013),^[13] Honey (2018),^[14] and The Worm Family Has Its Picture Taken (2021).^[15]

Leaves was named one of the best picture books of the year by Kirkus Reviews, Publishers Weekly, and School Library Journal.^[10] In 2011, Bank Street College of Education included Interrupting Chicken on their list of the best children's books for ages 5–9. Amazon named Ol' Mama Squirrel one of the best books of 2013 for ages 3–5.^[13] In 2022, The Horn Book Magazine named Don't Worry, Murray one of the best picture books of the year.^[16]