Robert Norman Munsch, was born on June 11th 1945 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Munsch graduated from Fordham University in 1969 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in history and from Boston University in 1971 with a Master of Arts degree in anthropology.

Robert Munsch initially studied to become a Jesuit priest, but decided he would rather work with children after jobs at orphanages and daycare centres. In 1973, Munsch received a Master of Education in Child Studies from Tufts University.

In 1975, Robert Munsch moved to Canada to work at the preschool at the University of Guelph in Guelph, Ontario. He also taught in the Department of Family Studies at the University of Guelph as a lecturer and as an assistant professor. In Guelph he was encouraged to publish the many stories he made up for the children he worked with.

Munsch had family tragedies which shaped is work. His wife delivered two stillborn babies in 1979 and 1980. Out of the tragedy, Munsch produced one of his best-known books, Love You Forever. The Munsch's have since become adoptive parents.

Robert Munsch is well known for his manic storytelling methods, with exaggerated expressions and acted voices. He makes up his stories in front of audiences and refines them through repeated tellings.

Munsch's stories do not have a recurring single character, instead the characters are based on the children to whom he first told the story (including his own children). Robert Munsch often performs at children's festivals and appears at elementary schools, sometimes unannounced. Munsch is a bestselling author in both the United States and Canada, and has sold over 30 million books, more than any other Canadian author. In 1999, Robert Munsch was made a Member of the Order of Canada.