Courtenay Fletcher

Courtenay Fletcher is a children’s book illustrator, designer, art director and daydreamer who's mission is to create books that help heal and inspire children of all ages! She grew up in California, spending summers hiking through the Siskiyou National Forest, riding horses and learning to appreciate her family’s independent spirit and gift for storytelling. In 2010, she lost a close childhood friend to breast cancer. Her friend left behind a 5-year-old daughter, which started Courtenay thinking about the ways in which we can let our children know they’re loved, even if we are apart. It was this loss and the emotional journey toward healing that inspired Sun Kisses, Moon Hugs. Courtenay also illustrated The Rhino Who Swallowed a Storm, by LeVar Burton and Susan Schaefer Bernardo, which is a story intended to help children dealing with trauma and tough times. It was sent to the International Space Station as part of the Story Time From Space program and read aloud by astronaut Kate Rubins. Her illustrations from that book were also included in the 2015 “Writing with Pictures” exhibit at the California Center for the Arts. Her last children's book, The Big Adventures of Tiny House was inspired by the creative and resilient spirit of the tiny house movement. It tells the story of an old farmhouse that gets recycled into a tiny house with wheels and then travels the country to discover that home isn't a place, but a feeling in your heart. Courtenay's new picture book, The Artist Who Loved Cats: The Inspiring Tale of Théophile-Alexandre Steinlen (June 2019) is a charming picture book biography of the little know artist behind the famous Le Chat Noir poster. Told by Noir, the antique store's cat, a curious little girl is whisked back to 1890's Paris and finds that you can follow your heart and change the world with your art!