Ted Lewin was born in Buffalo, New York on May 6, 1935. He had a sister and two brothers, both of them professional wrestlers. The Lewin household had a number of exotic pets, such as an iguana, a rhesus monkey, a chimpanzee, and a lion. Lewin grew up with the hobby of sketching his family pets. He also copied works of many illustrations and painters that he was interested in. Lewin developed a talent for art and in 1956 earned a BFA degree from Pratt Institute of Art in Brooklyn, where he met his wife, Betsy Reilly.

In order to finance for his education at Pratt, Ted Lewin took on a part time career as a teenage professional wrestler. His wrestling career lasted for 15 years, and it inspired him to record his experience by writing I Was a Teenaged Professional Wrestler.

In 1994, Lewin's book Peppe the Lamplighter received a Caldecott Honor.

In 2006, One Green Apple, illustrated by Lewin and written by Eve Bunting, won the inaugural Arab American Book Award for books written for Children/ Young Adults. One Green Apple tells the story of a young girl who just immigrated to America from an Arab country and how she discovers that her differences are what makes her special.

Here is a partial list of recent exhibits featuring Ted's works:

• "Ted and Betsy Lewin's World of Picture Books", Brooklyn Public Library, New York, March 4 - March 30, 2004
• "Adventures With Ted and Betsy", Society of Illustrators main floor gallery, June 1 through June 11, 2005
• "Travels with Ted and Betsy Lewin", Children's Museum of Manhattan, New York
• "Around the World with Ted and Betsy Lewin", Pratt Institute Libraries, October 30 - December 2, 2008