Nadia Mike is an Inuit educator who graduated with a Bachelor of Education from the University of Regina. Although Nadia has lived in many communities across the North, she considers Iqaluit, Nunavut, her home. Nadia has two daughters, Leah and Jaime, who constantly teach her to be less serious and enjoy every day. These two girls have also reminded Nadia of the importance of children’s literature, and having stories with settings, characters, and themes that show children that their lives and cultures are important enough to be in books. Nadia loves to travel, cook, sew, and drink strong coffee. In 2014, Nadia published her first book, an Inuktitut-language first-words board book. In 2016, she published Leah’s Mustache Party, her first picture book, followed by Ukaliq and Kalla Go Fishing in 2017.
Charlene Chua worked as a web designer, senior graphic designer, web producer, and interactive project manager before she decided to pursue illustration as a career. Her work has appeared in American Illustration, Spectrum, and SILA’s Illustration West, as well as several art books. She illustrated the children’s picture books Julie Black Belt: The Kung Fu Chronicles and Julie Black Belt: The Belt of Fire. She lives in Hamilton, Ontario, with her husband and two cats.