Jennifer Lloyd is the author of several children's books, including Looking for Loons (a Canadian Toy Testing Council Top 10 pick), Ella's Umbrellas (an Alcuin Award for Excellence in Book Design winner, and a Rainforest of Reading and Christie Harris Children's Literature Prize nominee), The Best Thing About Kindergarten, Taffy Time, and the Murilla Gorilla early reader series (multiple books in the series are Alcuin Award for Excellence in Book Design winners and Canadian Children's Book Centre Best Books for Kids and Teens selections). When she is not at her writing desk, she works as a kindergarten teacher in Blainville, Quebec. You can find out more about Jennifer's books at www.jenniferlloyd.ca. Ashley Spires has a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Emily Carr Institute of Art and Design and a Graduate Diploma in Illustration from Sheridan College. She is the creator of the Binky The Space Cat series of junior graphic novels, which have earned her numerous awards, including the Silver Birch Express and the Hackmatack. She is the illustrator of several picture books, including Penguin and the Cupcake, Ella's Umbrellas, and The Red Shoes; and has also both written and illustrated several, including Larf, Small Saul and The Most Magnificent Thing, which are known for providing readers, young and old, with a good laugh. She lives in Ladner, BC. Find out more at www.ashleyspires.com.
Praise for the hardcover edition of Ella's Umbrellas: Ella's Umbrellas is an enchanting combination of Jennifer Lloyd's playful, alliterative text and Ashley Spires' quirky watercolours. Both provide knowing, gentle humour and contribute to the story's sweet conclusion. A kindergarten teacher by day in Blainville, Quebec, Lloyd understands the way in which children cling to their possessions and find it difficult to share. Her text is light and rhythmic, setting just the right tone for reading aloud. Meanwhile, Spires, the BC-based author and illustrator of Binky the Space Cat and Penguin and the Cupcake, brings her characteristic wit to Ella's story. Her illustrations breathe life and energy into every scene. Little details add interest: Ella's cat pops up in several scenes, while the ubiquitous umbrellas provide numerous opportunities for younger readers to count aloud. Quill & Quire In this season of April showers, a book about umbrellas is welcome relief and good company indoors...Colourful illustrations by Ashley Spires add considerable appeal, and the embossed raindrops on the cover (visible only when light hits them, although they can be discerned by touch) will delight observant youngsters. Montreal Gazette