Remy Charlip was the writer and illustrator of such beloved children’s books as Dress Up and Let’s Have a Party and Fortunately!, in addition to being an artist, choreographer, teacher, and founding member of the Merce Cunningham Dance Company. He was a graduate of Cooper Union, where he studied fine arts. Charlip viewed his wide-ranging artistic endeavors as similar in spirit, calling them all forms of “internal dance.” He wrote or illustrated dozens of children’s books, winning three New York Times Best Illustrated Books awards and a first prize for illustration at the Bologna Book Fair.

"Decked out in his mother’s pots and pans while she bakes a cake, John is inspired to ask his friends to come to his party in costume — and we wait with him to see what they’ll be wearing when, at the turn of the page, they come through the door. No dullards here: a carton on the street turns Hans into a special delivery package; a ball of string makes Vera a meatball covered with spaghetti. The final surprise comes when John carries in the cake, with the single word happy visible. In Charlip territory, nothing is all spelled out."—The Horn Book