As a child,
Diane Goode loved books and art. Of Italian and French descent, she enjoyed the richness of both cultures and traveled to Europe every summer visiting family, as well as cathedrals and museums.
Her love for Europe shows in the setting of many of her books, Paris in particular, where two of her picture books, Where's Our Mama? and Mama's Perfect Present, take place. She drew on her experience of living for a short time in Pennsylvania for the artwork in Cynthia Rylant's story of Appalachia, When I Was Young in the Mountains, for which she was awarded a Caldecott Honor Medal.
She has illustrated 59 books for children, including anthologies and stories she has written herself.
Goode lives in Watchung, New Jersey.