Thacher Hurd was born in Vermont, but has lived in California for most of his life. He graduated from the California College of Arts and Crafts with a degree in painting. He has written and illustrated more than 25 books for children, among them Mystery on the Docks and Mama Don’t Allow, both of which were Reading Rainbow Feature Selections. Mama Don’t Allow also won the Boston Globe Horn Book Award. He also wrote and illustrated Art Dog, Moo Cow Kaboom, Sleepy Cadillac, and most recently Bad Frogs. He collaborated with Elisa Kleven on The Weaver, which was published in 2010.

He has also written and illustrated two board books, one of which, Zoom City, was a New York Times Best Illustrated Book of the Year. In 1983 Thacher and his wife Olivia founded Peaceable Kingdom Press, a publisher of cards and posters from children’s books. He lives in Berkeley, California and spends his summers in Vermont.