As a young girl, Lori Joy Smith made weekly trips to the nearby children’s library with her father. These trips sparked her love of reading and children’s books. As a teenager, Lori lived in Italy and visited some of the most beautiful museums in Europe, which left her wanting nothing more than to make art. Now she gets to put these two loves together every day, working as an artist and illustrator.#She loves making art, walking in the forest, looking at the stars, drinking coffee, growing flowers and, most of all, reading to her own girls every night before they go to sleep.#Lori lives in a cute little house on a beautiful little island with her husband, two daughters, two cats and a dog. Her work has appeared in Chirp and American Girl magazines. She has illustrated four books for children and has more on the way!~Twitter: @LoriJoySmith~Instagram @LoriJoySmithart

Qin Leng was born in Shanghai, China, and later moved to France and then Montreal, Canada. She now lives in Toronto, Canada, with her twin sister and works as a designer and illustrator. Her father, an artist himself, was a great influence on her. She grew up surrounded by paintings, and it became second nature for her to express herself through art. Qin graduated from the Mel Hoppenheim School of Cinema and has received many awards for her animated short films and other works. From very early on, she has loved to portray the innocence of children and has developed a passion for children’s books. In 2009, she illustrated her first picture book and has been busy ever since. She has published numerous picture books in Canada, the United States, the UK, France, Sweden, Hong Kong and South Korea for various publishers. Her books have been nominated for numerous prizes, including the prestigious Governor General’s Literary Award.

Jessica Rae Gordon grew up in the picturesque mountains of Nelson, British Columbia. She followed her passion for art and became an illustrator, designer and visual arts teacher. She began her career after receiving her BAA of Illustration from Sheridan College in Oakville, Ontario. She has illustrated for many Canadian and international magazines, including TIME, Reader’s Digest and Today’s Parent.~ ~Jessica creates artwork using a combination of acrylic paint, cut paper, pencil crayon and ink. She is an avid recycler and incorporates reclaimed, repurposed and recycled papers into her collages as much as possible. She often uses solid-colored papers, which allow her to draw on her own patterns or shadings. Her style mixes flat areas with dimensionally rendered elements.~ ~Jessica has taught visual arts to primary-aged children during spring break camps and summer camps. She has received a BEd in Visual Arts and Business at the senior secondary level from the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education in Toronto.~ ~Jessica has a great fondness for nature and enjoys hiking, kayaking, bird-watching and tidal-pool gazing. She regularly visits her home province of British Columbia to soak in the scenery and visit her family. Jessica lives and works in Toronto, Ontario.

Mike Lowery is an artist living in Atlanta, Georgia, with a beautiful German lady named Katrin and his incredible genius daughter, Allister. Mike’s work has been seen on everything from greeting cards to children’s books to gallery walls all over the world, and he is Professor of Illustration at the Savannah College of Art and Design Atlanta. He lives in an atomic ranch house surrounded by trees, where he likes to draw little animals in party hats and other silly stuff.~His illustration clients include: Digitas, Hallmark, Simon & Schuster, Bilingual Readers (Madrid), Random House, Walker Books for Young Readers, Nick Jr. Magazine, Galison/Mudpuppy, G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers, Viking, Macmillan, American Greetings, Disney and Kids Can Press, as well as many graphic design and advertising agencies. He has been featured and interviewed in the Washington Post and the Washington City Paper, and a few years ago he showed 16 of his tiny drawings in a show in Beijing.