Sophie Beer (née Blackhall-Cain) is an award-winning illustrator/author living in Brisbane, Australia. She completed a dual degree in Law and Creative Industries with distinction at Queensland University of Technology, but found the whole law thing unutterably dull and now works primarily in children's and editorial illustration. Reveling in color, shape, and texture, she lives by one simple rule: art should never be boring. When she's not illustrating and writing, she thinks a lot about plants, animals, music, and books.

Words, and pictures: two little words that, together, mean a lot. A high-quality imprint for young children, words & pictures was started in 2012. The imprint encapsulates three main focuses: imagination—because opening a book should also open a child's own imagination to possibilities; innovation—because children should be encouraged to create, not imitate; and inspiration—because books should make children want more: more books, more information, more of life itself. words & pictures represents a powerful and positive opportunity to open children's minds to a world of discovery.