Kate DiCamillo was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on March 25, 1964. She received an English degree from the University of Florida. At the age of thirty, she moved to Minneapolis, Minnesota and worked for a book warehouse on the childrens floor. After working there for four and a half years, she fell in love with childrens books and began writing. She wrote the 2001 Newbery-honor book, Because of Winn-Dixie, which was adapted into a film in 2005. In 2004, she won the Newbery Medal for The Tale of Despereaux, which was also adapted into a movie in 2008. Her other works include the Mercy Watson series, The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane, and The Magicians Elephant. Her title Bink and Gollie, Two for One made The New York Times Best Seller List for 2012.