Born in Abilene Texas on December 27th, Diane Stanley soon moved with her mother to New York City, then back to Texas, California, and finally to Texas where she graduated from high school. She went to Trinity University in San Antonio, where she took a figure drawing class as a senior. She discovered that she liked art and was good at it. Attending Johns Hopkins, she studied medical illustration and graduated with a master's degree. Shortly thereafter she decided on a career in children's book illustration. Her first book, The Farmer in the Dell, was published in 1978. She worked as a designer for Dell and an art director at G.P. Putnam's Sons before she worked full-time as an author and illustrator. Her husband, Peter Vennema, works on research and writing with her. Her recent books have included Charles Dickens, Saladin, Michelangelo, and The Giant and the Beanstalk.
