Lena's Favorite Sweater

Ellen DeLange has been fascinated by picture books ever since she was a child growing up in the Netherlands. In the attic of her home, she assembled a small library and shared her collection with friends and family. As an adult, she started traveling and expanded her library with picture books from all over the world. Ellen also enjoyed inventing her own stories and was encouraged by her daughter to write her first picture book, A Story with a Tail. She always has new story ideas in her head and can’t wait for the moment when the text and illustrations come together to make the magic happen. Ellen has a doctorate in medical sciences, and currently lives in Canada, where she loves to walk in the woods with her Jack Russell terriers (who are featured in some of her books), drink lots of tea after a busy day, and sail on the ocean to clear her mind.Johanna Häger is an illustrator with a passion for depicting the beauty of the little things in life. What identifies her art is timelessness and simplicity. The subject can often be found in everyday life: freshly picked plums in a bowl, a scarf thrown on an old chair, a single bluebell in a teacup . . . Since Scandinavian nature and its changing seasons provide Johanna with constant inspiration, they’re almost always present in her art. Johanna lives in Stockholm, Sweden, with her husband and three children.

Included in the Hot Off the Press Spotlight: Big Feelings.Included in the Children's Book Council's March 2024 'Hot Off the Press' reading list.