Dorothy Leung studied and worked in architecture before taking the headlong plunge into her illustration dream. In her work she strives to evoke empathy, nostalgia and wonder. When the Wind Came is her first book; The Bird Feeder is her second.~ ~A subtle, constant presence in Dorothy’s periphery, birds have always been a point of fascination for her. They remind her of adaptability, resilience, freedom, spirit and the passage of time. Dorothy lives near Tkaronto (Toronto), Ontario.~Twitter: @doroleung~Instagram: @doroleung~Facebook: @doroleung

Madeline Kloepper is a Canadian artist with a Bachelor of Fine Arts and a major in illustration from Emily Carr University of Art and Design. She grew up in the lower mainland of British Columbia but moved northward to the traditional lands of the Lheidli T’enneh First Nation, also known as Prince George. She lives happily in a little old house with her partner, Ben, and sweet pup, Heidi.#When she is not out admiring the mountains and mighty trees around her, you can find her in her making art in her studio, making pottery, sipping coffee or a combination of the three.#She has illustrated several children’s books, including The Keeper of the Wild Words; Tiny, Perfect Things; Rooster Summer and Little Blue Chair. Madeline has even written a couple of her own: Outside Art and The Not-So Great Outdoors.#Madeline gravitates towards creating children’s books that have a strong connection to the natural world or sense of nostalgia. She loves combining gouache painting with colored pencil and Photoshop when she’s creating her artwork.~Instagram: @madelinekloepper~Facebook: @madelinekloepperillustration

A party of dapper little penguins on a milk glass launched Julien Chung’s illustration career back when he was seeking a new creative adventure. Being a news designer for a major metropolitan newspaper was very serious business indeed, so drawing quirky animal characters was a way of lightening things up a bit.#Since then, inspired by the minimalism of poster art and postage stamps, his stylized characters and designs have graced products, from pet dishes to beer glasses, and books around the world, from Reykjavik to Tokyo.#With nine published books and several more in the works, Julien has earned accolades for his illustrations from 3×3 magazine, the American Society of Illustrators, the New York Society of Illustrators, Applied Arts, the Bologna Children’s Book Fair, the Nami Concours and SCBWI. His favorite awards are the Glass Slipper Award and the Purple Island Award.#Making art and reading have always been a big part of Julien’s life. An early childhood photo shows Julien (looking serious, but feeling gleeful inside) drawing one, just one, squirrelly dramatic line with a thick wax crayon on a large piece of construction paper and then tossing it aside to attack the next one (so says his mom).#His mom, an artist, had a lovely collection of children’s books illustrated with woodcuts. His dad, an engineer, was a fan of modern architecture and Scandinavian furniture. Both tried to share their cultures with Julien by buying him two books: This Is Munich (she was Austrian) and This Is Hong Kong (he was Chinese) by Miroslav Šašek, but Julien preferred This Is New York with its big red fire engine and gray skyscrapers on the bright yellow cover.#Julien has a fondness for airports, ice cream and illustrated maps. He collects stamps, pins and toys. Christmas is his favorite holiday. He lives near Montreal with his wife in an empty nest so high up they sometimes see a falcon or two fly by as they are sipping their morning coffee. It’s kind of scary being so close to the clouds, yet awesome.#He was born in the Year of the Dog and has a soft spot for man’s best friend. He enjoys drawing, sketching and painting dogs of all kinds. Snoopy, Snowy and Lassie were his best friends. Do not ask him to draw a horse. He cannot draw horses. And he just can’t get monkeys right either.

Kathryn Durst is a children’s book illustrator who lives in Peterborough, Ontario, with her grumpy mini dachshund named Chili Dog. With a degree in animation from Sheridan College, she has worked with various animation studios, including an internship with Pixar Animation Studios. Kathryn now works full time as a children’s book illustrator, and you can find her work in Hey Grandude! and Grandude’s Green Submarine, written by Paul McCartney.

Illustrator Hanneke Siemensma studied fine arts at the Royal Academy of Art in The Hague. For her work on Little Wise Wolf, Hanneke was nominated for the 2020 CILIP Kate Greenaway Medal. She lives in the Netherlands.