[1][2] Brown was raised in Hopewell, New Jersey and studied illustration at Art Center College of Design.

White Honors, a Children’s Choice Award for Illustrator of the Year, two Irma Black Honors, a Golden Kite Award, a New York Times Best Illustrated Book Award and multiple New York Times bestsellers that include the novels The Wild Robot, The Wild Robot Escapes, and The Wild Robot Protects.

The Wild Robot Escapes is also a Wall Street Journal and USA Today bestseller.

[12] In 2016, The Wild Robot was named one of the best children's books of the year by Kirkus Reviews,[8] the New York Public Library, Publishers Weekly,[13] and Shelf Awareness.

The same year, Booklist included The Wild Robot on their "50 Best Middle-Grade Novels of the 21st Century" list.

[15] Four of the books Brown has illustrated are Junior Library Guild selections: Kaline Klattermaster’s Tree House (2008),[51] Creepy Carrots!

[55] In 2017, Amazon, the Los Angeles Public Library, and Kirkus Reviews named Creepy Pair of Underwear one of the best children's books of the year.