10 Things I Love about Books

John Joseph’s passion for art appeared at an early age, while living in Orlando, Florida. As a young boy, he was inspired by the many trips to visit the animation studios just down the road at the happiest place on Earth. It was very rare that you would spot him without a pencil and sketchbook, creating stories and drawing away. John Joseph’s love of art continued through school and he went on to get an art education degree from Colorado State University and a masters degree from Lesley University. You could say that John has never really left school, as he graduated and went straight back to elementary school to teach visual arts. There, he is constantly inspired by the imagination of his students, and often includes them in his stories and illustrations. But the best part is, he has several months off throughout the year, to play with his family in the Colorado mountains and create lots of art!

Jordan Wray is an international children’s illustrator based in the UK. Finishing his studies at Plymouth College of Art in 2014, Jordan graduated with a First Class Honours. With crayons as fingers, Jordan has always loved to draw and is inspired by the world around him, especially his little black cat, Iver! When he isn’t writing or illustrating, Jordan spends most of his time caring for his house plants, learning about different countries and cultures and dreaming about one day visiting the moon!

D. J. Steinberg lives in Toronto, Canada. Mark Chambers lives in Lincoln, United Kingdom.

Rob McClurkan had a high school science teacher who brought a flying squirrel to class. One day, the squirrel made his way to Rob’s jacket pocket, where he left a tiny gift. This kind of mischief is what makes Squirrel the perfect character for Rob’s first picture book. Rob lives with his wife and kids just outside Atlanta, Georgia, where a nutty squirrel sighting is a daily occurrence.