Simms Taback was an American writer, graphic artist, and illustrator of more than 35 books. He won the 2000 Caldecott Medal for U.S. picture book illustration, recognizing Joseph Had a Little Overcoat, and was a runner-up in 1998 for There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly.
Update 2/2011: I still read this book almost every day. It's great, because it's so small that I can hold it myself and I even try to turn the pages (though mostly I just flip back and forth between the front and back covers).
I especially love the yellow and green pages. The illustrations are all black and white, except for the color the page is about. There is a bird of paradise on the green page that my dad likes to make a cool noise for. My mom can't make the noise as well.
My grandpa bought this for me at the Phillips Collection.