Karin Ireland grew up in Southern California where her first memories of nature were of digging huge holes in the dirt at the back of the yard, climbing trees and eating berries fresh from the vine.
Wonderful Nature, Wonderful You is Karin's tenth book and one that is especially meaningful because of the empowering messages it offers. These are the same messages she used to move from a life of struggle and frustration to one of peace and (most of the time) contentment.
On Valentine's Day, 1995, she left a job and a condo in California to live her dream in Hawaii.
Christopher Canyon is the illustrator of several wonderful books for children. When he isn't in his studio, Christopher enjoys traveling and providing educational and entertaining programs for schools, libraries, and conferences. Christopher received his formal art education at the Columbus College of Art & Design in Columbus, Ohio. His work has been selected for many exhibits and publications including the Society of Illustrators, the Mazza Collection at the university of Findlay, Ohio, and the Natural History magazine.
Currently Christopher is adapting and illustrating several of John Denver's songs as children's picture books. The critically acclaimed Sunshine On My Shoulders was released by Dawn Publications in 2003, Ancient Rhymes: A Dolphin Lullaby in 2004, and Take Me Home, Country Roads in September 2005.
Christopher Canyon shares some thoughts on the project: "To have this opportunity to share John Denver's music and message with the children of today is truly a dream. John gave the world so many thoughtful songs about relationships; our global need to live together in peace and the importance of caring for our environment. These messages, as relevant today as ever, and John's music and voice continue to touch our lives and lift our spirits."
Three of Christopher's books, Sunshine On My Shoulders, The Tree in the Ancient Forest and Stickeen, have won the American Bookseller Association's Benjamin Franklin Award for best children's picture book of the year. Chistopher is also the illustrator of Wonderful Nature, Wonderful You and the beautiful Earth trilogy, Earth and You - A Closer View: Nature's Features, Earth and Us - Continuous: Nature's Past & Future, and Earth and Me - Our Family Tree: Nature's Creatures. Christopher lives with his wife and cat in central Ohio.
