Lecia Balian
Lecia Balian is Lorna Balian's daughter. Raised in a family of artists, her dream to create children's books dates back to her earliest memories. Lecia lives in Wisconsin with her husband and children, and loves to incorporate her passion for nature into her artwork. Lecia Balian’s website: http://www.lecia.baliandesign.com/

 

Lorna Balian
Lorna Balian was born and raised in Wisconsin. She studied art at the Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design, where she met her husband, John. Together, they renovated an old brick schoolhouse where they raised six children. Lorna's children’s book career began when she decided to write and illustrate stories for her young children. She published her first book, Humbug Witch in 1965. Her long and celebrated career of creating books continues to be inspired by her fourteen grandchildren. Lorna still lives in Wisconsin with her husband.

Matt Brown
Matt Brown has been a professional photographer for over twenty years. His work has appeared in numerous publications, including National Geographic Traveler. Matt lives on Fidalgo Island in Washington State with his wife, Kathleen.

Giora Carmi
Giora Carmi spent fourteen years as a freelance graphic designer in Israel. During that time, Giora illustrated over two hundred book covers and fifteen children’s books. He came to the United States in 1985 and established himself as an illustrator for The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal. In the U.S. he continued to pursue his interest in children's books, illustrating twenty-eight books, two of which he also wrote. In 2004, Carmi received a degree from NYU in art therapy. He now works as an art therapist with troubled teens in Bergen County, NJ. He has two daughters, a son and one grandson from a previous marriage. He lives with his life partner, Anita Gold, in New York City Giora Carmi’s website: http://www.portfolios.com/GioraCarmi

Lauren Castillo
Lauren Castillo was exposed to a potpourri of cultural traditions growing up in a multicultural family. She earned a Masters degree from the School of Visual Arts in New York and continues to be inspired by the ethnic diversity of New York City. Lauren Castillo’s website: http://www.laurencastillo.com

Miriam Cohen
Miriam Cohen is an avid champion of the emotional rights of children, and is interested in their “immense vulnerability, and their need to be nurtured, encouraged, and allowed to unfold naturally.” She has spent many hours in classrooms reading, listening, and talking with children "not as a lecturer, but as a fellow writer." The time she has spent in the company of children is one reason why her books ring true, and why young readers hear themselves in the voices of her characters. Miriam and her husband live in Brooklyn, New York. They have three children. Their son Adam, an award-winning photographer, collaborated with Miriam onEddy’s Dream.

Michele Coxon
Michèle Coxon is a renowned illustrator and animal artist, and her books have sold over one million copies world-wide. She currently lives in Wales with eight cats, one dog, and two teenage sons.

Carl DiRocco
Carl DiRocco is a graduate of the New England School of Art & Design, and has illustrated Dear Big, Mean, Ugly Monster (a Minnesota Humanities Book Award Finalist) and Our Principal Promised to Kiss a Pig(a Children's Choice 2005 Selection). Carl currently lives in Reading, Massachusetts, with his wife and three sons. Carl DiRocco's website: www.carldirocco.com

Randy Duchaine
Randy Duchaine is a well-known photographer whose Brooklyn photographs have received wide acclaim. He lives in New York City.

Laura Dwight
Laura Dwight’s interest in photographing children with special needs came from seeing poor, unflattering images of infants and toddlers with Down syndrome in her psychology textbooks. Her first board books for young children were for the Photoflap® series published by Star Bright Books. Her first full length photographic book, We Can Do It!, portrays five children with special needs, and her book Brothers and Sisters features five sibling groups playing and solving problems in everyday situations. It allows children to satisfy their curiosity about disabilities while realizing that all children are essentially the same. Laura Dwight’s website: http://www.lauradwightphoto.com/

Annie Beth Ericsson
Annie Beth Ericsson was born in Connecticut and raised in New Hampshire. She is currently a student at Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, NY, majoring in Illustration. Visit her website at www.anniebethericsson.com

Lindsey Gardiner
Lindsey Gardiner lives in Dundee, Scotland, where she shares a messy studio with her high maintenance but adorable dogs, Lola and Yuki. They give her lots of love and LOTS of ideas, and have much of the same issues as children: picky eating, sibling rivalry, toilet training, attention seeking, and fear of baths. As anyone with children (or dogs) knows, the list is endless. At least Lindsey hopes it is, or else where will her next story come from? Lindsey Gardiner’s website: http://www.lindseygardiner.com/

Kostya Gorbachev
Kostya Gorbachev is Valeri Gorbachev’s son. He holds a degree in animation and computer graphics. Kostya was born in the Ukraine, but now lives in New York City.

Valeri Gorbachev
Before moving to the United States in 1992, Valeri Gorbachev was one of the most popular illustrators in Russia. He has dozens of children's books to his credit in Russia, as well as in America. He currently lives in Brooklyn, New York.

Francesca Greco
Francesca Greco was born in Foligno, Italy. She learned to draw from her grandmother, whose pictures were full of fantasy. When she was fifteen, her rendering of Alice in Wonderland with the Caterpillar won first prize at the 5th World Biennial for Children's Art. She studied art history at the University of Perugia, and started publishing children's illustration in 1998.
  Francesca lives in a big house with her parents, a large black dog named Blu, and a cat named Micia who stays as far away from Blu as possible. Her passion is ballet, which she has been studying since she was four years old. Francesca Grecco’s website: http://www.francescagreco.it

Melanie Hope Greenberg
Melanie Hope Greenberg grew up in the South Bronx where her father owned a luncheonette. She began painting as a girl, having a steady supply of art materials at home because her oldest sister studied fashion design. Self taught, she began her illustration career in 1981, designing greeting cards for UNICEF.
   Melanie wrote and illustrated her first picture book in 1989. She has also been an artist for the Children's Defense Fund, the Southern Poverty Law Center, the AFL-CIO and the National Association of Education for Young Children. Melanie travels throughout the US presenting her author-illustrator workshops for elementary students, adult teachers, artists and writers. Melanie met Miriam Cohen in the early 1990s when they were visiting schools together for Learning Leaders. "We had many personal phone conversations," Melanie remembers, "usually while I cooked lunch. My kitchen window looks out over some Brooklyn Heights gardens. A white dove, whom I named Saraswati, had been flying and perching in the gardens. Miriam knew all about my fascination with this white dove. Eventually, the dove ate breadcrumbs on my windowsill. On the day Miriam told me that she would like me to illustrate her manuscript, Down in the Subway, she also mentioned she had just spotted a white dove in Queens where she lived. That is why I dedicated Down In The Subway to the white messenger dove, Saraswati. I also painted a white dove on a shopping bag in that book and include a white dove in every book I illustrate." Melanie Hope Greenberg’s website: www.melaniehopegreenberg.com 

Isabel Hill
Isabel Hill is a photographer, architectural historian, urban planner and award-winning documentary filmmaker. Her production company, Building History Productions, specializes in reports, photographs, and documentary films on architecture and urban issues. Isabel Hill lives and works in Brooklyn, NY. Isabel Hill’s website: www.isabelhill.com

Ronald Himler
Ronald Himler began his career as a children's book artist in 1972, and has illustrated over 160 books and several hundred book covers. He has received more than thirty-five awards, nominations, and citations of excellence including a Silver Medal from the Society of Illustrators and a Christopher Award. Several of his books have been Reading Rainbow Selections. In addition to illustrating children's books, Ron also makes oil paintings of Plains Indian culture that are exhibited in galleries throughout the country. Ron lives in the desert outside of Tucson, AZ. Ronald Himler’s website: http://www.ronhimler.com

Catherine Hnatov
Catherine Hnatov is an artist and designer who lives in Brooklyn, NY with her husband and two children. She also lives with two cats, one black and one white. Hip, Hop is first book. Her website is: www.paintwater.com

Ying-hwa Hu
Ying-hwa Hu and Cornelius Van Wright have won a number of awards for the books they have illustrated together. Their work has also been exhibited at the Bologna Book Fair and The Society of Illustrators Original Art Show. They live in New York City with their two children. Cornelius and Ying-hwa’s website: http://www.pencilmoonstudio.com/cy1.html

Members of L.A. Goal
L.A. Goal is a non-profit organization based in Los Angeles that is dedicated to providing its members with the practical training and emotional support to reach their fullest potential. Disabled Fables is the result of a workshop at L.A. Goal in which the participants were asked to choose one of Aesop's Fables and re-tell it in their own words and through their own artwork. This meant figuring out how to tell the story in a linear, "conventional" way, something that presents a particular challenge to people with developmental disabilities. The artists worked on Disabled Fables for two years, and were paid for their work. This was done under the auspices of Inside Out Productions, a non-profit business venture that employs members and sells the fine art and functional art items they produce. This artwork has been displayed and sold in numerous boutiques, galleries and museums. L.A. Goal’s website: www.insideoutproductions.com.

Holly Meade
Holly Meade has worked as an illustrator of children's books for almost fifteen years. She has illustrated more than twenty books, and written three. A graduate of the Rhode Island School of Design with a degree in painting, Holly has also worked as a graphic designer and teacher. She has two grown children and lives on the coast of Maine.
  Holly won a Caldecott Honor Award for Hush! A Thai Library. Rata-Pata-Scata-Fata is illustrated in Holly's distinctive style: a collage of torn and cut pieces of colored paper to which she adds detail by using ink, paint, or colored pencil. Holly Meade’s website: http://www.reachroadgallery.com

Cheryl Nathan
Cheryl Nathan grew up in Los Angeles. When her kindergarten teacher gave her mother a paintbrush to take home, Cheryl's life path became clear. After high school, she attended the Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale, and then worked as a freelance illustrator and designer until she was hired as an art director for a publishing company. Eventually, Cheryl gravitated to the children's book division, and that is when she illustrated her first picture book. Since then, she has illustrated over twenty children's books combining painting, drawing, and collage. Cheryl lives in Ft. Lauderdale. Cheryl Nathan’s website: http://www.cherylnathan.com

Dean Norman
Dean Norman was a greeting card artist for companies like Hallmark and American Greetings for thirty years. He retired from greeting cards in 1990, and now draws Wally's Woods cartoons. To see his current work, visit Dean's site: http://sites.google.com/site/wallyswoods/index. Dean met Richard Watson in 1952 when they were both cartoonists for the student humor magazine at the University of Iowa. In a Dark Cave is their first collaboration. Dean lives with his wife Maureen in Cleveland, Ohio.

Narelle Oliver
Narelle Oliver is an Australian author-illustrator of a number of award-winning children’s picture books including The Best Beak in Boonaroo Bay, Mermaids Most Amazing, Sand Swimmers and Home. Many of her titles have been published internationally. While studying for a BA in Education, Narelle majored in design and printmaking and discovered the world of contemporary children’s picture books. For several years she taught at the Queensland School for the Deaf, living and breathing picture books and sign language. In 1989 she published her first book Leaf Tail. The linocut print medium, used in different combinations with paint, pencil and collage is a special feature of her illustrations. In particular, Narelle uses linocut to capture the patterns and textures of animals and their surroundings. Currently, Narelle lives in Brisbane, Australia, with her family. Narelle Oliver’s website: www.narelleoliver.com

Hui-Mei Pan 
Hui-Mei Pan was raised in rural Taiwan, and her culture has greatly influenced her stories and illustration. Pan is a graduate of the Savannah College of Art and Design. In 1997 she was recognized with the highest honor for illustration at the Fifth Annual Children's Literature Awards of Chen Gwo-Jeng, in Taiwan. 

Gretel Parker
Gretel Parker is a professional artist and illustrator working from the United Kingdom. She specializes in toy art and design. Gretel Parker’s website: http://www.thetiddlerpressonline.com/

John Stadler
John Stadler is the author and illustrator of many popular books for children, including three Reading Rainbow titles and two Children’s Choices selections. His work has been featured on television, as well as in museums and galleries. He lives in New Hampshire. John Stadler’s website: http://johnstadler.com/

Stephen Shames
Stephen Shames is a photojournalist and art photographer who creates award-winning photo essays on social issues for foundations, advocacy organizations, the media, and museums. Steve’s images are in many permanent collections, including the National Portrait Gallery and the International Center of Photography. Steve started L.E.A.D Uganda (www.leaduganda.org) to help AIDS orphans, former child soldiers, and children living in refugee camps become the future leaders of Africa. Stephen Shames’ website: www.stephenshames.com

Kyra Teis
Kyra Teis learned her distinctive paper-collage technique from her father, Dan Teis, an esteemed contemporary artist and academic. She is the recipient of a Society of Children's Book Writers & Illustrators Magazine Merit Award (1997). Kyra draws inspiration from her extensive travels, her husband and young daughter. She enjoys designing creative workshops for school visits and speaking to students about making stories and images of their own. Kyra lives near Albany, New York. Kyra Teis’ website: www.kyrateis.com

Ali Teo
Ali Teo was born in Malaysia and earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Design from Wellington Polytechnic. She lives in New Zealand. Ali Teo's website: www.aliteo.co.nz/noflash.html

Cornelius Van Wright
Cornelius Van Wright is an award-winning illustrator. He works with his wife, Ying-hwa Hu (also an illustrator), on many assignments. Their work has been exhibited at the Bologna Book Fair and The Society of Illustrators Original Art Show. He lives in New York City with his wife and their two children. Cornelius’s website: http://www.pencilmoonstudio.com/c1.html

Bruce Whatley
Bruce Whatley was born in Wales, and immigrated to Australia with his family when he was five years old. Ten years later, they returned to Britain, and he went on to earn a degree in illustration at Manchester Polytechnic. He returned to Australia with his partner Rosie, where he worked as an illustrator and art director in the advertising industry, and continued to paint watercolors and oils inspired by the Australian outback. He illustrated his first children's book in 1992, and has been publishing them ever since. Many are collaborations with Rosie, who is now his wife. They have two children–Ben and Ellyn.

Brian Wildsmith
Brian Wildsmith was raised in a small mining village in Yorkshire, where, he says, "Everything was gray. There wasn't any color. It was all up to my imagination. I had to draw in my head..." Since those early days, Wildsmith has created more than 200 picture books, which have been translated into more than twenty languages. In 1962 he was awarded the Kate Greenaway Medal, Britain's highest honor for a distinguished picture book. Wildsmith is deservedly known as one of the greatest living children's book illustrators. The Brian Wildsmith Museum, which showcases his illustration work, was founded in Japan in 1994. Brian Wildsmith's website: http://www.brianwildsmith.com