Mike grew up on a farm in Southwestern Ontario. It was a Tom Sawyer–like childhood, with lots of scabby knees and elbows and almost unlimited time and space to explore and imagine.#Mike still loves the outdoors and when he isn’t wandering around in the woods trying to think up an amusing new idea, he can be found in his studio working on his latest kids’ book, cartoon, animation or other fun project.#Mike is the author-illustrator of Linty: A Pocketful of Adventure, the world’s first graphic novel for kids about a cute little ball of lint! He has also illustrated a bunch of other books, including the very popular Gross Science series written by Edward Kay. For this series Mike got to draw heaps of really gross stuff, including gobs of POO! What could be better than that?!#In his “free time,” Mike continues to work as a director, writer, creator, character designer and animation supervisor on many popular and award-winning kids’ shows.#You can find Mike’s digitally syndicated cartoon, The Wandering Melon, (appropriate, right?) on the GoComics website. The Wandering Melon is a collection of quirky ideas in cartoon form. Some have even become the starting points for book ideas.#What’s Mike got planned next, you ask? Hmm … I thought I heard you ask. Well, lots more wanders in the woods with a doggie or two and many more funny and quirky books for kids and more cartoons and who knows what else!#Mike lives in lovely Bayfield, Ontario.

Daniel Loxton is a writer and illustrator who specializes in science and critical thinking publications — especially for young readers. He is the editor of Junior Skeptic, the children’s science section of Skeptic magazine.#As a myth-busting writer and researcher, Daniel spends his days getting to the bottom of strange mysteries and controversies. He has written on subjects from fake monster videos to health fraud to the possibility of extraterrestrial life.#Daniel loves distilling complex science-related topics so that they’re accessible to anyone. “Kids’ science writing must always be clear and jargon-free,” he says, “but it should never be ‘dumbed down.’ Kids want to know how things really work.”#As an illustrator, Daniel specializes in photo-realistic computer-generated scenes for science books and magazines.#Before starting his writing career, Daniel worked for ten years as a professional shepherd in the wilderness of northern British Columbia.#He lives in Victoria, British Columbia, with his wife and his two young children.

As a child, Geneviève loved to draw and to make up stories about her pet mouse Calamity Jane. So no one in her family was much surprised when she went on to become an illustrator — and sometimes writer — of children’s books. #She has illustrated a number of books for children of all ages, and is also the author-illustrator of the Mr.King series and the Piggy and Bunny series, both published by Kids Can Press. #She has won several awards, including the Marilyn Baillie Picture Book Award in 2012 and the Governor General’s Literary Award for Illustration in 2007.#Geneviève lives in Montreal, and although she doesn’t have any pets, she feeds her neighbors’ cats secretly.

Kevin Sylvester has written and illustrated more than thirty books for kids.#These include novels such as Night of the Living Zed, co-written with his kid, Basil. It’s the sequel to The Fabulous Zed Watson! Also co-written with his kid Basil, it was a finalist for numerous awards, including the TD Canadian Children’s Literature Award and the Governor General’s Literary Award.#Kevin’s other novels include Apartment 713, the Hockey Super Six series, the MiNRs trilogy and The Neil Flambé Capers series.#His picture books include Gargantua (Jr!): Defender of Earth, Super-Duper Monster Viewer, GREAT, GREAT TOO and Splinters.#He also writes and illustrates non-fiction books. There are sports books (Gold Medal for Weird, Sports Hall of Weird, Basketballogy and Baseballogy) and books on financial literacy (Follow Your Stuff and Follow Your Money).

In a world that’s becoming ever more digitized, Claudia Dávila remains a believer in and appreciator of books you can hold in your hand. She writes, illustrates and designs books for kids of all ages, with stories and themes that encourage children to be strong, thoughtful, compassionate and responsible people.#Claudia is the former art director of Chirp and Chickadee magazines, the author-illustrator of the award-winning graphic novel series Luz Goes Green and the picture book Super Red Riding Hood, and she is the illustrator of the Nansi graphic novel series and Thunderboom. Claudia was born in Santiago, Chile, and now makes her home in Toronto, Ontario, with her husband and their two children.