Lambda Literary Fellow Karen Yin is an author-illustrator living in Southern California. The founder of Conscious Style Guide, Karen embraces inclusiveness and making space for all. She is a proud member of the Authors Guild, the Dramatists Guild, and the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators. Whole Whale is her debut picture book. Nelleke Verhoeff started her career performing shows for children, but then discovered her passion for art. She has since illustrated several books and was a finalist in the Silent Book Contest at the 2018 Bologna Children’s Book Fair. Nelleke has also illustrated The Bread Pet for Barefoot Books. She lives in Rotterdam, the Netherlands.

“The artwork is cheerful and bright with high-contrast colors, depicting wonderfully unusual animals like rooks, rhinos, crabs, koalas, tapirs, skinks, and quails, all interacting with joy . . . But perhaps the truest charm of this book lies in its language, rich with assonance, alliteration, and internal and end rhymes and liltingly cadenced with read-aloud rhythm” – Booklist