Raina Telgemeier is a lifelong cartoonist who has drawn graphic stories since the age of 10. Her early influences included newspaper comic strips as well as animation like Disney movies and Scooby-Doo. After graduating from the School of Visual Arts in New York City, she published short story comics for various publishers. In 2004, she began adapting The Baby-sitters Club book series, a childhood favorite, into comics. In between books, she created Smile for the website Girlamatic. Her expressive character designs, self-reflective writing style, and charming humor all help explain coming-of-age experiences to young audiences. Telgemeier's other graphic novels include Drama (2012), Sisters (2014), Guts (2019).

Telgemeier tells Smile in a limited third-person perspective in which readers only see the story from Raina’s point of view. The only alternative insight they receive is from an older Raina reflecting on events in yellow caption boxes. She positions her younger self as an everygirl who shares the same desires and anxieties as other middle-school students. Raina goes on family vacations, plays videogames, and enjoys group activities like Girl Scouts and band class.