Born and raised in New York City, Rachel studied at the School of American Ballet, and danced with the Boston Ballet until a foot injury forced her to consider another career: book illustration. Isadora received a Caldecott Honor for Ben's Trumpet, and has written and illustrated numerous other picture books, including Peekaboo Bedtime, the Lili at Ballet series and several classic tales set in Africa (The Night Before Christmas, The Ugly Duckling, Hansel and Gretel, Rapunzel, The Fisherman and His Wife, The Twelve Dancing Princesses and The Princess and the Pea).