Kate Seredy was a Hungarian-born writer and illustrator of children's books. She was born on November 10, 1899, and passed away on March 7, 1975. She won the Newbery Medal once, the Newbery Honor twice, the Caldecott Honor once, and the Lewis Carroll Shelf Award.

Most of her books were written in English, which was not her first language. Seredy seems to be unknown (and untranslated) in her native Hungary, despite the fact that her story of The Good Master, and the sequel set in World War I are intensely about Hungary.

Born as Serédy Kató, she was a gifted writer and illustrator who moved to the United States in 1922. Seredy received a diploma to teach art from the Academy of Arts in Budapest. During World War I, Seredy travelled to Paris and worked as a combat nurse. After the war, she illustrated several books in Hungary. She is best known for The Good Master, written in 1935, and for the Newbery Award winner, The White Stag.