Illustrators with Jennifer Rofé by jenrofe

JENNIFER ROFÉ

Artwork by Renée Kurilla

ARTISTS OVERVIEW

Katherine Ahmed Abigail Albano-Payton

Brian Biggs

Mike Boldt

Forrest Burdett

Breanna Carzoo

Brittany Cicchese

Joe Cepeda

Pierre Collet-Derby Neely Daggett Ria Dastidar

Kris Easler Maggie Edkins Willis

Elio

Sophie Gilmore

Wes Hargis

Danamarie Hosler

Patrick Hulse Seo Kim

Renée Kurilla

Jiemei Lin Ishaa Lobo

Jessica Lynch-Jonely

Sasha Mayer

Mary Peterson

Deb Pilutti

Sally Walker

Amber Ren

Jacob Souva Erin Vanessa

Lenore Wan

Eliza Wheeler

Janelle Washington

KATHERINE AHMED

Katherine Ahmed f is a Muslim author-illustrator born and raised in New York. Before launching her career as an illustrator, Katherine earned a BA at The New School and was the manager of a multicultural Muslim Sunday School in New York City Katherine lives in New Jersey with her husband and two daughters

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ABIGAIL ALBANO-PAYTON

K atherine Ahmeabigail sd is an Afro Filipina artist whose work focuses on the underrepresented and dismissed, ranging from large scale paintings of BIPOC experiences to intimate multi-media representations of individuals. Abigail has a BFA in Drawing and Painting from Laguna College of Art and Design, California, and currently resides in Dallas, Texas.

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ABIGAILALBANO

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COMING SOON: TEACHER TO A MOVEMENT

BRIAN BIGGS

Brian Biggs is an illustrator and writer in Philadelphia. His work is inspired by both living in the city with its hustle and its bustle, leading to books like Everything Goes and Tinyville Town, and by getting out of it, to the hills and the woods and the quiet When he was a kid, teachers often complained about Brian drawing in class and telling stories. Now, having made that his life’s work, he feels totally vindicated.

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MIKE BOLDT

MIKE BOLDT is a New York Times bestselling illustrator and author-illustrator of more than twenty-five books. When he’s not drawing ridiculous animals or people from his home studio in rural Alberta, Canada, he can be found sharing adventures and laughs (and his ice cream) with his family.

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FORREST BURDETT

Forrest Burdettt r is an illustrator from New Jersey with an eye for magic and a head in the clouds. He studied illustration at the Fashion Institute of Technology in Manhattan He uses art to inspire readers to discover charm and magic within themselves and the world around them.

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BREANNA CARZOO

BREANNA CARZO is an author-illustrator who crafts humorous books based on universal human emotions. She creates illustrations with cut paper collage and mixed media Breanna's debut picture book LOU was accepted into the Society of Illustrators Original Art Show. Breanna lives with her husband and their dog in Austin, Texas, but she has lived in nearly all four corners of the United States

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BREANNACARZOO BREANNACARZOO

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COMING SOON: THE LITTLE LANDSCAPERS SERIES

OE CEPEDA

OE CEPED is an award–winning author–illustrator of more than forty books, including those by notable uthors like Pam Muñoz Ryan and Toni Morrison. He has ustrated the jackets of award-winning books including speranza Rising (Pam Muñoz Ryan) and Newbery winner, Merci Suárez Changes Gears (Meg Medina)

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JOE CEPEDA

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LITTLE, BROWN

BRITTANY CICCHESE

Brittany Cicchese ris a Denver-based illustrator with degrees in English, Art, and Library Science. Brittany is deeply passionate about storytelling and the way stories connect us all When not drawing, you can find her reading YA fantasy, spending time with family, and exploring the beautiful Rocky Mountains.

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PIERRE COLLET-DERBY

LLENORE W IIS spent most of his childhood doodling (particularly during math class) After many years working in the animation and video game industry in France and North America, Pierre now draws pictures and writes stories from his home in Canada.

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NEELY DAGGETT

JOE CEPE ii illustrates from her home studio in Portland, Oregon, and she loves to dream up adorable characters with heart especially kids! When she’s not drawing, you can find Neely playing UNO with her three kids, coaching soccer, or wrangling her crazy pets

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PUBLISHED

RIA DASTIDAR is a second generation British Asian, originally from London, England, now based in Glasgow, Scotland. She has worked as an illustrator and designer for clients such as the BBC, Intercom, British Airways, and Wonderbly. In 2022, she was long listed for the Klaus Flugge prize for best newcomer to picture book illustration for Magnificent by Laura Dockrill

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KRIS EASLER

Kris Easle ris a freelance illustrator, graphic designer in publishing, and chronic overthinker with a pencil. She lives in Minneapolis with her husband, and she doesn’t feel at home without at least one pet and a respectable collection of tea

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MAGGIE EDKINS WILLIS

Forrest Burdettt r is an grew up in Missouri and Maine. She designed books In-house for seven years before becoming a full-time author/illustrator Maggie lives in Princeton, New Jersey She is a mom, a runner, and a football fan. She has a small, silly dog with very serious eyebrows named Moose.

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Coming Soon: WONDERMOMS!

Coming Soon: WONDERDADS!

BEACH LANE

BEACH LANE VIKING ROARING BROOK

BEACH LANE

BRE is an illustrator who celebrates childhood with bold lines, geometric shapes, and vibrant colors He is an Associate Professor of Instruction at Columbia College Chicago, teaching in the Illustration Program. He lives in Aurora, Illinois, with his wife, daughter, and greyhound

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ELIO

SOPHIE GILMORE

JOE CEPE is iis an honorary Londoner who works from a shed that could imminently collapse into the fox den beneath She likes frogs and toads, and illustrations of the sun with a face Sophie writes and illustrates surprise encounters, quiet strengths, and unruly emotions. She was a 2023 Sendak Fellow.

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WES HARGIS

WES HARGISis an author-illustrator living in Arizona. He began his career as an editorial cartoonist and honed his illustration craft late at night When Wes is not writing or illustrating, he loves exploring the desert and eating Mexican food. He and his wife have three very opinionated kids.

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DANAMARIE HOSLER

DANAMARIE HOSLER is an autistic illustrator, fiber artist, and muralist based in Baltimore, Maryland She loves and relates deeply to the humble but mighty pigeon. Her work is based around the idea that art should be accessible to all people, in all forms. In those rare moments when she’s not making art, you can find her perfecting her macarons and croissants, or bird watching

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RICK HULSE

est Bu DD makes stuff for kids, and often from an flowing collection of found treasures and recycled board he’s been gathering since childhood His rite stories are ones he can imagine being read d in a classroom or library. When Patrick’s not ng or illustrating, you can find him checking the

SEO KIM

JOE CEP is a South Korean illustrator, designer, and educator based in Baltimore She received her MFA from Maryland Institute College of Art, and she currently teaches illustration at Towson University. Seo loves dense forests, homemade banana pudding, and growing jungles in her yard

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RENÉE KURILLA

LLENORE W IISis a #1 New York Times bestselling illustrator and author-illustrator of over fifty books, with more on the way! She loves nature, flowers, tiny DIY crafts, yoga, and ... books! She lives near Boston with her husband and young daughter, who doesn't mind when she borrows the crayons

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LITTLE, BROWN

JIEMEI LIN

JOE CEPE is an illustrator born in Hangzhou, China, currently living and working in Washington State. She works with digital media and traditional media. Jiemei’s artwork frequently takes on individual and cultural identity themes with a keen eye for design and color

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JIEMEILIN

ISHAA LOBO

Forrest Bur is a British Indian illustrator living in London. She studied Illustration at Middlesex University, where her picture book dummy was shortlisted for the Macmillan Prize for Illustration Ishaa enjoys visiting museum exhibitions, going to the cinema, and exploring Portobello Road Market, one of her favorite places!

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JESSICA LYNCH-JONELY

Forrest Bu r is an author and illustrator living out her first ambition: to write and illustrate books for children! (Ok, her very first ambition was to be a tightrope walker, but that was not to be) Her unique illustration style evokes silliness and coziness in equal measures. Jessica lives at the end of the Oregon Trail with her husband, two sons, a cat, a dog, and a tortoise.

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SASHA MAYER

LLENORE W II loves doodling. This passion, along with her whimsical style, led her to a career designing brands— including for Monster High and Barbie—and packaging for toys, games, and more Sasha is now devoting her talent to picture books. She’s an illustrator, writer, and graphic designer based in Los Angeles.

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MARY PETERSON

JOE CEPE is was born and raised in Iowa on a small family farm surrounded by cornfields and lots of animals. Those early years in the company of critters large and small continue to provide inspiration for her art Mary is a printmaker, gardener, and avid reader She lives in Los Angeles with her husband and her parakeets, Peety and Pierre

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BEACH LANE

DEB PILUTTI

Forrest Bur feels lucky to have a job where reading, playing with toys, and watching cartoons is considered research” Before becoming an author-illustrator, Deb was a graphic designer, and she created toys and packaging Deb lives in Ann Arbor, Michigan, with her husband and their Australian shepherd, Tater.

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AMBER REN

LLENORE iis a New York Times bestselling illustrator and a visual development artist in the animation industry. She earned her BFA in Character Animation at the California Institute of the Arts Amber’s work is inspired by her love for folk art, nostalgia, inclusion, and her childhood spent in China

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HYPERION

ROCKY POND

RICK RIORDAN

HARPERCOLLINS

LITTLE, BROWN

ROARING BROOK

JACOB SOUVA

JOE CEPE is an author-illustrator who used to think he was cursed with a runaway imagination and silly daydreams but now sees them as the bits that make up great stories He’s happy not to be cursed He and his family live in a small community in upstate New York

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ERIN VANESSA

Forrest Bu r is a former video game producer turned author/illustrator When not working, she’s usually baking a cake, playing The Legend of Zelda, or watching Star Trek: Deep Space Nine for the millionth time. She lives in Victoria, Canada, with her family.

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ERINVANESSAART

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SALLY WALKER

Forrest Bu r earned her MA in Children’s Book Illustration at Cambridge School of Art. She enjoys experimenting with different mediums and likes to blend print textures with drawing techniques Sally lives in Suffolk, England and is kept busy with the antics of her children, husband, and sausage dog, Poppet

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LENORE WAN

LLENORE W was born and raised in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains, enchanted by high plains and open skies After completing her Bachelor of Architecture degree, Lenore found herself spending nights and weekends exploring the world of art and illustration. She currently resides in the Pacific Northwest, where she illustrates ephemeral scenes, capturing her connection to nature, community, and the comforts of home life

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is a paper-cut artist and author 2023 Caldecott Honor and the Coretta teptoe New Talent Illustrator Award oosing Brave by Angela Joy She hemes related to Black culture, history, y through bold silhouettes and colorful

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ELIZA WHEELER

JOE CEPED is a New York Times bestselling authorillustrator of children’s books, and was a recipient of the Sendak Fellowship. One side of her work focuses on creating fantastical, bright, and cozy story worlds, while the other side dives into historical time periods, people, and places When she’s not at her drawing table she can be found walking and hammocking around the lakes of Minneapolis.