Otto the Cat

Norman Gorbaty was a leader in graphic design in a career spanning over fifty years, most notably as the art director for the legendary advertising agency Benton & Bowles, where he designed iconic ads for Crest, Post cereals, and the IBM Selectric typewriter, and groundbreaking covers for Timemagazine. After he trained at Yale, Gorbaty’s early career as a fine artist saw his work in the Museum of Modern Art in New York City. Gorbaty became an internationally recognized painter and sculptor and was the illustrator of numerous books for children, including Sleepy Dog. He passed away in 2020 at age 87.

Gail Herman has written many books for children, including easy-to-reads such as Flower Girl, Otto the Cat, What a Hungry Puppy, and Step into Reading's own The Lion and the Mouse and There Is a Town. She has also written has written several biographies and nonfiction books, including Who Was Jackie Robinson? and What Is the World Series?  She lives in Newton, Massachusetts.