Jeanne Birdsall is an American photographer and writer of children's books. She is best known for her five-volume series about the Penderwick family. The Penderwicks, the first book in the series, won the 2005 National Book Award for Young People's Literature.

Jeanne Birdsall grew up in the suburbs west of Philadelphia, where she attended wonderful public schools. Jeanne had many great teachers, including Mrs. Corkhill, who encouraged her intellectual curiosity; Mr. Tremonte, who taught her to love math; and Miss Basehore, to whom she is forever grateful.

Although she decided to become a writer at ten years old, it wasn't until she was forty-one that she started writing. In between, she held various jobs and worked hard as a photographer, creating art. Some of her photographs are part of permanent collections.