David Shannon was born in Washington, D.C, in 1959 and grew up in Spokane, Washington. David liked to draw as soon as he could hold a crayon. He went to Hutton Elementary school where his teachers soon realized that if they let David draw murals it would keep him from disrupting class and their classroom would have some pretty good art on the walls, too. David eventually graduated from Art Center College of Design in Pasadena where he majored in Illustration. In He sold his pickup truck and moved to New York City in 1983 to start a career in editorial illustration. David’s work appeared in many magazines and newspapers, including Time, Newsweek, Rolling Stone, and The New York Times, as well as numerous book jackets and posters.

In 1988 he illustrated his first children’s book, How Many Spots Does a Leopard Have? by Julius Lester. After illustrating several books by other authors, David was encouraged to try writing his own stories. His first book was How Georgie Radbourn Saved Baseball, which was named a New York Times Best-illustrated book in 1994. In 1999 the semi-autobiographical story No, David! received a Caldecott Honor. David has written and/or illustrated over 35 books for children. He lives in Los Angeles with his Wife, Heidi, and daughter, Emma.