The Lowdown on Authors

CONTRIBUTOR NAME AUTHOR NAME THREE KEY FACTS

Dagmar Restell Mo Willems ● Author AND Illustrator of his books!

● Has published over 50 books
● Hides his character the Pigeon hidden
on the inside front or back cover of
each book for readers to search for.

Dagmar Restell Raina Telgemeier ● Cartoonist

● Named Rain(a) because it was raining
the night she was born.
● Her book Smile is based on a real life
experience when she was in Grade 6.

Dagmar Restell Jeff Kinney ● Owns his own bookstore!

● Wanted to be a cartoonist as a child
but wasn’t successful so started
writing books.
● His books are read by 70 000 children
everyday!

Chelsea Melney Dav Pilkey ● Diagnosed with ADHD and

dyslexia as a child
● Very disruptive student
● Created comic books while
sitting out in the hallway at
school

Chelsea Melney Jeff Brown ● Originally a child actor

● He thought of the idea for the
Flat Stanley books when his
own kids were stalling to go to
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bed
● Wrote for many different
magazines before creating
Flat Stanley

Chelsea Melney Roald Dahl ● Dahl was a wartime fighter

pilot during World War II
● Had 5 children
● Some of his stories are
inspired by tales that his
mother used to tell him about
trolls

Tracey Hill Dav Pilkey 1. Diagnosed with ADHD and dyslexia

as a kid and teachers used to make
him sit in the hallway everyday due to
his disruptive behaviour in class.
2. Loved to draw and make up stories
as a kid which he would do with his
time spent in the hallway. This is
where he created the Captain
Underpants character.
3. At 19, Pilkey entered his first book
World War Won, in a national
competition for student authors and
won.

Tracey Hill Tui T. Sutherland 1. Tui is named after a very noisy New
Zealand bird.
2. Has the same birthday as Harry
Potter, July 31st!
3. Loves to work in her pyjamas and with
a puppy!
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Tracey Hill Mo Willems 1. Mo started drawing cartoons when he was
only 3 years old and in high school drew
comic strips for the school newspaper.
2. Studied animation at University
3. Used to write for the TV program Sesame
Street

Anne Grimm Alan Gratz 1. #1 New York Times best selling author of
seventeen novels for young readers
2. His novel Refugee is the winner of 14 state
awards
3. He has traveled to schools and book festivals in
39 states and half a dozen countries to talk about
his books.

Anne Grimm James Patterson 1. He has written detective stories, thrillers,

science fiction, romance, and young adult
novels.
2. He didn’t enjoy reading until after he
finished high school.
3. He has set up readkiddoread.com

Anne Grimm Kate DiCamillo 1. She writes for both adults and children and
thinks of herself as a storyteller.
2. She has been awarded the Newbery
medal for Flora and Ulysses and The Tale of
Despereaux (among other awards).
3. She gets her ideas from listening and
looking and eavesdropping and imaging.

Annie Zurrer Carol Anne Shaw ● Local author of children’s books who
lives in the Cowichan Valley on
Vancouver Island (where we live!)
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● Huge animal lover who spends more
time at parties with dogs than people
● Once a high school art teacher

Annie Zurrer Kazu Kibuishi ● New York Times best selling author
and illustrator of popular graphic novel
series Amulet
● Shares “behind the scenes” videos
and “how to” videos creating art for
the books
● Answers questions from his readers
by email

Annie Zurrer Judy Blume ● Spent her childhood making up

stories inside her head
● Has been writing stories for 50 years
including picture books, chapter
books, fudge books and middle grade
books
● Tells students how she pursued her
dream of becoming an author and has
a “Guest Book” for students to write to
her

Chelsea Genest Dav Pilkey ● Designated with ADHD and Dyslexia

are his ‘superpowers’
● Partnered with scholastic to inspire
reading. His slogan is “reading gives
you superpowers”
● Created stories since he was young
and had a terrible school experience
until he met a professor who inspired
him to write.
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Chelsea Genest Ashley Spires ● Canadian children’s book author and
illustrator. Who grew up in B.C.
● Animation was her passion and she
got into photography which led her to
bookmaking courses and eventually
into illustrating and writing.
● Ashley has a book club called Ashley
and the Asthma Cats as she reads
some of her stories in videos

Chelsea Genest Kelly Yang ● Went to college at 13 (Berkley) and

law school at age 17 (Harvard Law!)
● Founder of the Kelly Yang Project a
leading writing and debating programs
for kids in Asia
● New York Times bestselling author
and countless other awards such as
Amazon Best Book of theYear,
Washington Post Best Book of the
Year etc. for her book Front Desk

Tara Van Essen Phoebe Gilman - Canadian/American children’s book

author and illustrator
- Many of her books have a strong
female lead (ex: Grandma and the
Pirates).
- At one time she lived in Jerusalem
and made a living making and selling
paintings

Tara Van Essen Oliver Jeffers - Northern Irish artist, illustrator and
writer
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- Puts on art exhibits of his work
- Has his own website called “Stay at
Home Story Time”. Features many
great children’s books!
https://www.oliverjeffers.com/abookad
ay

Tara Van Essen Kerry Brown - Australian Children’s book author

- She is an Elementary school teacher
and has her Masters in Education
- Presents interactive workshops for
kids and adults.
- One of my favourites to read is “The
Hole” Kerry Brown and Lucia
Masciullo

Jasmine Sanghera Rachel Renée Russell - Main Character Nikki is named after
her youngest daughter and is a
combination of herself and her two
daughters’ personalities.
- Her book series is based on real-life
experiences of her and her two
daughters’ middle school years.
- She wrote and illustrated her first
book in 6th grade as a birthday
present for her brothers.

Jasmine Sanghera Dav Pilky - Diagnosed with ADHD & dyslexia as a

child
- Very disruptive in class so teachers
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made him sit in the hallway where he
drew and made-up stories that have
become the essence of his popular
comic book series Captain
Underpants & Dog Man graphic
novels
- Writing is inspired by children and
adults around the world

Jasmine Sanghera Elisabetta Dami - At the age of 13 she was already

working at her Father’s publishing
company as a proofreader with
dreams to become a writer.
- In 90’s, she found out she could not
have her own kids so she started to
volunteer in pediatric hospitals where
she started telling funny and
adventurous stories about a mouse,
Geronimo Stilton.
- Loves all animals but was very
fascinated by mice because of their
creativity, intelligence, and curiosity
that she also embodies and sees in all
children!

Dee Singh Suzanne Collins ● She used to be a Children’s Television

series writer, such as Clarissa
Explains it All and The Mystery Files
of Shelby Woo.
● Her first books were Picture Books,
including When Charlie McButton Lost
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Power
● The Hunger Games books series is a
popular movie series as well (The
books are better though!)

Dee Singh Ben Clanton ● He owns a Godendoodle named Gigi

(also called Wookie)
● He used to love drawing monsters,
aliens, and robots, until he discovered
Polar Obssession by Paul Nicklen and
began drawing aquatic creatures
● His favourite things to do include
playing basketball and eating waffles

Dee Singh Jory John ● He does not only write picture books,
but chapter books as well such as
The Terrible Two
● He used to work at a non-profit writing
centre in San Francisco
● His books have been mentioned in
the show Jeopardy!

Ashley Kelly Shannon Messenger (Keeper of the
Lost Cities series)
● Self-described “cupcake addict, and
general shenanigan causer”
● Originally aspired to become a Disney
animator
● Went to school to study Cinematic
Arts and become a screenwriter only
to realize she preferred to watch
movies than create them
● The first published version of Keeper
of the Lost Cities was draft #20 and
was published 4 years after she first
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came up with the idea

Ashley Kelly Tracey West (Dragon Masters series) ● Pokemon books were some of her
first before Scholastic picked up her
first original series “Pixie Tricks”
● Loves writing books based on movies,
cartoons, and video games (LEGO
Ninjago, Adventure Time, etc.)
● Has written for other series including
Heroes in Training and sometimes
under pseudonyms - including Coco
Simon (Cupcake Diaries)
● Sister Katherine Noll is also an author

Ashley Kelly Jerry Pallotta (Who Would Win? ● Grew up in Massachusetts and spent
series) a lot of time at the beach and on the
water with his 72 cousins
● Has written over 90 books over the
past 30+ years
● Many of his books are tied to the
ocean/water and the creatures that
live there

Ashley Kelly Andy Griffiths and Terry Denton
(Illustrator) 13 Story Treehouse and
others
● They have collaborated on over 30
books since their first publication in
1997
● Andy’s favourite authors are Dr
Seuss, Enid Blyton, and Lewis Carroll
● Five of the Treehouse series books
have been adapted for stage and had
sell-out seasons at the Sydney Opera
house
● Andy is an ambassador for the
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Indigenous Literacy Foundation
which looks to provide books and
literacy programs to remote
communities and the Pyjama
Foundation which supports youth in
forster care by reading with them,
helping with homework, and generally
trying to help these children reach
their life’s potential despite their
current circumstances.

Scott Rutherford Chris Colfer ● is an Irish American musician,

scriptwriter, movie actor, book author,
and philanthropist.
● 2011, he took a sabbatical from
acting. He decided to venture into his
childhood passion. In 2012, The Land
of Stories, the Wishing Spell became a
New York Bestseller.
● Has gone one to publish 15 books to
date.
● He is also an active advocate for the
exposure of little children to literacy
material

Scott Rutherford Oliver Jeffers ● Oliver Jeffers is a visual artist and

author working in painting,
bookmaking, illustration, collage,
performance, and sculpture
● His critically acclaimed picture books
have been translated into over fifty
languages and sold over 14 million
copies worldwide.
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● Jeffers has been the recipient of
numerous awards, including a New
York Times Best Illustrated Children’s
Books Award, Bologna Rigazzi
Award, An Irish Book Award, and a
United Kingdom Literary Association
Award.
● His eighteenth book as author and
illustrator was released in October
2020, and he has illustrated
several others.

Scott Rutherford Jez Alborough ● He loved drawing and painting from

an early age and always wanted to be
an artist.
● When he realized that he could
illustrate his own stories, some doors
started to open.
● Jez has written and illustrated over
forty picture books; including the Eddy
and the Bear series (Where's My
Teddy, It's the Bear and My Friend
Bear) which were turned into a Bafta
award winning television series, the
bestselling Bobo books (Hug, Tall and
Yes), the Duck in the Truck series and
his latest picture book Albert and Little
Henry.
● He plays rhythm and lead guitar in a
Blues Band called The Jackals (his
brother is the drummer)

Christie Rossignol Sandra Markle ● American author of children’s books

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who is a former elementary school
teacher.
● She has published more than 200 non
fiction books for children.
● She has written the popular series
“What if you had animal_______”
● Her highly readable books are a fun
way to make science more accessible
to students.
● She has won multiple awards for her
books including Nick Jr. Magazine's
Best Books of the Year

Christie Rossignol Victoria Kann ● This author is wildly popular with our
younger kids in the annex, and is
known for the Pinkalicious series, in
which she co wrote the first of the
series with her sister.
● She is both the artist and the
illustrator of this series, and has made
a sold out (in the before times)
musical based on the series.
● She also creates artwork for
magazines and newspapers.

Christie Rossignol Mary Pope Osborne ● She is the American author of the
Magic Tree House series of books
which have sold more than 134 million
copies worldwide.
● She grew up moving a lot as a child
because of her father’s career in the
military and she credits all the moves
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to helping her write the books she has
written.
● She began writing almost by accident
as her first book was an
autobiography based on her travels
and moving as a child.

Hanna Chau Jason Reynolds ● Didn’t read a novel until he was

seventeen
● Began writing rap lyrics, which
eventually transitioned to poetry
● Didn’t see himself represented in the
books he read, so chose to write
books for kids like him

Hanna Chau Rainbow Rowell ● One of her most popular novels,

“Eleanor & Park” was meant to be
adult fiction but it was categorized as
young adult and a lot of teens
gravitated towards it
● She spent nearly eight years writing
her first book
● She does not read fanfic of her own
work (but is aware that there’s a lot
out there!)

Hanna Chau Patrick Ness ● In 2006 he formed a civil partnership

with his partner, and in 2013, following
the legalization of same-sex marriage
in California, his partner and he got
married.
● He wrote a Doctor Who spin-off TV
series called Class
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● In 2016 A Monster Calls was released
as a movie. Patrick Ness wrote the
screenplay, and the film starred
Sigourney Weaver, Felicity Jones,
and Liam Neeson

Jessica Hohner Iain Lawrence Canadian writer of suspenseful YA fiction

- He lived in 11 houses and went to 9

schools across Canada as a child before
settling in BC as an adult.

- He is an avid sailor, and you can tell by

how many of his books take place on
boats or near the ocean

- His book, Gemini Summer, won the

Governor General’s Award.

Jessica Hohner ONE Japanese comic book creator

(appropriate for teens, not elementary)

- Started out writing and drawing One

Punch Man as a webcomic (with very
crude illustrations), until his stellar writing
made it so popular that it was
re-illustrated by Yusuke Murata and
picked up by a publisher. His work shows
that you don’t have to be Michelangelo to
write a good comic.
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- His best-known series, One Punch Man
and Mob Psycho 100, were both adapted
into popular and critically acclaimed
anime.

- ONE is basically anonymous – his real

name is not known to the general public
and almost nothing is known about him
personally. Who doesn’t love a mystery?

Jessica Hohner Mariko Tamaki and Jillian Tamaki (appropriate for teens, not elementary)

- Canadian cousins who make comics

together (and also separately). Mariko
writes, and Jillian draws.

- Their two best-known young adult comics,

Skim and This One Summer, both won
Governor General’s Awards for children’s
literature, among a very large number of
other awards in Canada and the US.

- This One Summer, one of my personal

favourite comics, is consistently one of
the most banned and challenged books in
the US, allegedly because of “it includes
LGBT characters, drug use, and profanity,
and it was considered sexually explicit
with mature themes” (Source:
http://cbldf.org/2017/04/this-one-summer-t
ops-alas-top-ten-challenged-books-list/).
It’s not nearly as explicit as that blurb
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makes it sound, but it is a perfect pick for
Banned Books Week in high school!

● She used to work at making

Sharlene Fontana Antoinette Portis TV commercials, then went to
Disney as Creative Resources
VP before becoming a
writer/illustrator of her own
books. .
● Her books “Not a Box”, “Not a
Stick” are widely used for
springboards for ADST and
Creativedrawing lessons.
● She made a performance
video in 1972 that is in the
Getty Museum video archive.

Sharlene Fontana Elisabetta Dami

● The Geronimo Stilton series
has sold over 180 M copies
and with 249 editions it is one
of the best-selling book series
ever written
● At the age of 13 she started
out in the publishing world as
a proofreader for the family
business and at 19 she wrote
her first short stories.
● She loved adventure and got
her aircraft pilot license at 20
and parachutist license at 23.
● She traveled the world on her
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own and completed a famous
survival course at the Outward
Bound School in Maine, USA.

Britt Ratzburg David Walliams - Always came in last place in his

school’s cross country runs, just like
his character Joe from “Billionaire
Boy”
- Swam 140 miles along the River
Thames for charity
- Starred in a number of TV shows,
such as “Little Britain” (not for kids!)

Britt Ratzburg Stephen King - After he was hit by a van, he bought

the van with the intention of beating it
with a sledgehammer
- Is a huge Boston Red Sox fan
- Has written under two different pen
names, Richard Bachman and John
Swithen

Britt Ratzburg R.L. Stine - Is afraid of jumping into water; he

always has to step into a pool rather
than jumping or diving in.
- Has written several joke books under
the pseudonym Jovial Bob Stine
- Used his initials to hide his gender,
which was inspired by S.E. Hinton,
author of The Outsiders