Amandine Thomas is a French award-winning author and illustrator based in the leafy Dandenong Ranges near Melbourne, Australia. At age four, she announced to a bewildered family that she would become a children’s book illustrator, and grew up writing and illustrating short stories that she compiled into crooked, clumsily-stapled booklets.

Fast forward to present-day, and not much has changed: through empowering stories illustrated in a playful and lively style, she explores the themes she is passionate about, such as our environment – and the many ways in which it can inspire and amaze us – or the connections we foster with others, with ourselves and with the world around us.

Her vibrant watercolour illustrations have featured in children’s books and magazines, and she has worked with a variety of clients from one side of the globe to the other, sharing stories of positive change for people, for communities, and for the planet.