Dow Phumiruk was born in Bangkok, Thailand, and came to live in the United States when she was about three years old. She loves children and sharing stories. Dow has been a member of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators since 2011. She’s the author of picture book Mela and the Elephant and the illustrator of Counting on Katherine: How Katherine Johnson Saved Apollo 13. She also illustrated Maya Lin: Artist-Architect of Light and Lines, which received starred reviews, was a Junior Library Guild Selection, and was featured on many best books of 2017 round-ups. Dow is a pediatrician who lives with her husband and children in Colorado. They own a dwarf rabbit, a bearded dragon, and a chubby hamster.