Meet the author

David Ezra Stein.

Writer & illustrator · United States · b. 1972

David Ezra Stein: American author-illustrator behind the Caldecott-Honor Interrupting Chicken series — loose, watercoloury, dialogue-led picture books about bedtime story chaos for ages 3–6.

David Ezra Stein is an American author-illustrator born in 1972, best known for Interrupting Chicken (Caldecott Honor, 2010) and its sequels The Elephant of Surprise and Cookies for Breakfast, picture books in which a young chicken keeps interrupting her father's bedtime stories with very firm corrections. Stein's style is loose, watercoloury and warmly observational, with strong dialogue-led humour and read-aloud bounce. He has also written and illustrated Pouch!, Leaves and other picture books. A reliable picture-book maker for ages 3–6, particularly for read-aloud sessions where the comic timing of a child interrupting the bedtime ritual will land hard.