Rob Peñas is a second-generation Filipino-American whose parents immigrated to the United States in the 1960s. He grew up in a house filled with books and playing 16-inch softball. Pedro's Yo-Yos was a New Voices winner and marks his debut. Rob was inspired to write this book when he learned that the ever-popular yo-yo toy was credited to a Filipino. It was important to Rob that Pedro's story and achievement not be left in obscurity. He lives with his family in Kansas, where the prairie is not too far away.