Eleanor Estes was born in West Haven, Connecticut on May 9, 1906. She graduated from the Pratt Institute Library School and worked as a children's librarian in branches of the New York Public Library system. Her first book, The Moffats, was published in 1941. Her other works include The Hundred Dresses and Ginger Pye, which won a John Newbery Medal for the most distinguished children's book in 1952. She also wrote a single adult novel entitled The Echoing Green. She died of complications following a stroke on July 15, 1988 at the age of 82.