Joey and Melanie began their careers working in daycares before becoming public school teachers. They have been married for 20 years and have two children. Both hold bachelor's and master's degrees in education, and Melanie is also a Licensed Professional Counselor.

Together, they created the Thoughtful Bots series to help children understand big feelings and build social skills, as well as the Wonder Who Crew series celebrating educators through engaging stories. Joey also writes and illustrates the bestselling Worst World Works™ picture books, a humor series designed to make reading fun for kids.