Margot Ladd Tomes was born on August 10, 1917 in Park Hill, Yonkers, New York. She attended Pratt Institute but did not like it. Before illustrating children's books, she designed wallpaper and fabric, occasionally designing a book jacket or illustrations for cook books. She illustrated her first book, The Breaking Point by Daphne de Maurier, in 1959. She illustrated her first children's book, The Brave Balloon of Benjamin Buckley by Barbara Wersba, in 1963. During her lifetime, she illustrated more than forty books including If There Were Dreams to Sell, The Six Swans, and The Fisherman and His Wife. She received several awards including the New York Times Choice of Best Illustrated Children's Books of the Year in 1977 and the New York Public Library's 100 Books of the Year in 1980 for Jack and the Wonder Beans by James Still and the Society of Illustrators Certificate of Merit in 1979 for The Sorcerer's Apprentice, adapted by Wanda Gag. She died of pancreatic cancer on July 2, 1991 at the age of 73.
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