Vicki Cobb credits her outlook on education to her mother's forward-looking thinking. From kindergarten to sixth grade she attended The Little Red School House in Greenwich Village. Her early education was a joyful experience of hands-on activities, field trips, reading children's literature (not textbooks), creative projects, and a kind of portfolio evaluation that today's educators realize are the most powerful tools for producing individuals who have a lifetime love of learning. According to Cobb her books "allow me to recreate the joy of learning I experienced in elementary school for myself, forever."

Vicki Cobb graduated from Barnard College with a major in zoology and went on to get a Master's degree in Secondary Science Education. After early careers as a laboratory researcher and science teacher, she became a full-time writer of science books for children. Light Action! Amazing Experiments in Optics represents her life as both author and parent. Her coauthor is her son Josh, and optical engineer and the illustrator is her son Theo, an artist and art director.

Vicki's latest titles include: Where's the Science Here? series from Millbrook Press, Sneakers, Junk Food, Fireworks, and On Stage and from DK Books: Harry Houdini: A Photographic Story of a Life.