Ann Jonas (1932-2013) was an acclaimed American children's book author and illustrator, celebrated for her innovative and imaginative picture books. Born on January 28, 1932, in Flushing, New York, she graduated from The Cooper Union where she met her husband, fellow children's book author and illustrator Donald Crews. A graphic designer, she moved to Frankfurt to be with Crews when he was drafted and stationed there. 

Upon returning to the United States, Jonas again worked as a freelance graphic designer. Her husband encouraged her to write and illustrate children’s books, so she turned to her experience as a mother of two daughters for her debut book, When You Were a Baby, which was published in 1982.

Jonas' work is characterized by its clever use of visual play and transformations. She is perhaps best known for Round Trip (1983), a groundbreaking book that can be read forwards and then flipped upside down to reveal a different story. Other notable works include Aardvarks, Disembark! (1990), Reflections (1987) and The Quilt (1984).

In 2013, Publisher’s Weekly quoted Jonas as saying, “I’ve been trying to explore other ways of stretching children’s imaginations. I find myself drawn more and more often to designing books that involve some sort of visual play. It seems like a wonderful opportunity to encourage children to look at familiar things in different ways while offering the appeal of a game or a puzzle. If I can also deal, even only lightly, with some of a child’s deeper concerns, then I feel that I’ve served him or her as well as I can.”