Lauren Stringer – Illustratör

In this sweet and gentle picture book, Bear wakes one day to find his Smile gone and enlists his friends to help him find it.Bear and Smile are always together. They wake up together, swim by the waterfall together, and eat honey together. But one day, Bear wakes up and Smile is nowhere to be found. With the help of his woodland friends, will Bear be able to find his Smile again? This tender and special debut picture book explores sadness with a light touch and shows that sometimes a good friend can make all the difference.

Henri Matisse searches for light and inspiration in Morocco in the year 1912 in this vibrant picture book biography telling the story of a formative experience in the painter’s life.Henri Matisse loves to paint colors bright and bold and light. But during a cold, rainy winter in Paris, everything and everyone, including Henri, feels cloudy and dark. Henri can’t paint. Following the advice of a good friend, Henri packs his bags and a trunk full of canvases, paints, brushes, and inks and travels to Tangier, Morocco, hoping to find an abundance of light. But when he arrives, Tangier is suffering its coldest, rainiest winter in years! What will Henri do? This illuminating picture book biography introduces readers to the genius and inspiration of Henri Matisse as he discovers that sometimes the darkest shadows bring the brightest light.