Robert Kimmel Smith is an award-winning American children's author.

Between 1957 and 1965, he was a copywriter at an ad agency, and was a partner and creative director at Smith and Toback from 1967 to 1970. In 1970 he became a full-time writer; his first children's book, Chocolate Fever, was published in 1972. His other works for young readers include Jelly Belly and The War with Grandpa.

He started writing stories for young readers "by accident". He told his daughter bed-time stories and then he wrote them. That led to his first book Chocolate fever He gets his inspiration from his own life. Jelly Belly refers to his own life when he was the fattest kid in school.