Xiaoqiang Huang was born in Wenzhou City, China. He graduated in 1999 from Tianjin University with a degree in Precision Instruments. In 2000, he moved to the United Kingdom to study at the University of East Anglia, where he obtained a Master's degree in Computer Engineering in 2002 and a Doctorate degree in Computer Vision in 2006.
Since then, he has lived and worked in the UK. Along with his wife, they have raised three children in the UK. Frequently reading British children's picture books to his children, he was inspired by the significant role these books play in enriching children's literacy, art appreciation, imagination, and cultural understanding. Therefore, he sought to find the best Chinese children's picture books for his children born in the UK.
However, the search was disappointing. Despite China's 5,000 years of history filled with many outstanding children's stories, he could not find a single picture book that satisfied him.
This led him to the idea of creating picture books for Chinese stories himself.
Vivian French was first published in 1990, a natural progression for somebody who had enjoyed careers in the theatre, counselling and storytelling. Since then, she had more than 300 books published and is one of the most borrowed authors in UK libraries.
Vivian writes stories for picture books, fiction and non-fiction, poetry, and plays. She loves the challenge of making up stories and explaining real things – from frogs to chocolate, from worms to dinosaurs. She collaborates with many different illustrators from all over the world, enjoys working with editors, and loves meeting her readers in schools and libraries and at festivals all over the world.
She is the co-founder of Picture Hooks (a mentoring scheme for illustrators), and a visiting tutor at Edinburgh College of Art. In 2016 she was awarded an MBE in the 2016 honours list for her outstanding services to literature, literacy, illustration, and the arts.
Alice Palace has always found wonder in art, and by following what she loves, she chose an art foundation course and then a graphic design degree at Nottingham Trent University. This is where she found her passion for illustration.
She set up her creative business called 'Alice Palace' in 2004, selling illustrated greeting cards and gift wrap at trade shows to shops in the UK and worldwide. This led to new illustration work for many companies, including Boden, The Museum Of London, and Oxfam. She has also taken on projects to develop logos, websites, wedding stationery, book illustrations, and her own range of personalised products.
Nearly 20 years on, Alice Palace is still going strong: She produces bespoke illustrations and personalised gifts to make people smile. She loves working creatively in different ways, including hand-drawn monoprint, ink, and papercut illustrations, and mixing in patterns and hand-created lettering to make unique designs.
Michelle Zhu is a second-generation Chinese in the UK. She has enjoyed reading and writing since she was young. During her primary school years, she won multiple awards in writing competitions, such as the overall champion in the story-writing contest of the Worcester Competitive Arts Festival (WCAF) in the UK. She likes different styles, especially poetry and fantasy short stories.
Her excellent writing skills have earned her scholarships in entrance exams to several prestigious schools, including St. Paul's Girls' School in London, one of the top schools in the UK.
Additionally, she loves music and has passed the piano and violin exams of the ABRSM Grade 8 with outstanding results. She is also interested in Chinese stories and hopes to bring the essence of Chinese culture to the world through picture books.
Al Brunker is a poet, writer, actor and one time lawyer. He loves hiding big meanings behind silly rhymes and playful wordplay. He has performed his verses at poetry slams, weddings and office parties, and was once commissioned to write a poem about the resident pug in a caravan park.
With two children of his own, who are now adults, Al misses bedtime storytime and its powerful and memory-making way of connecting the generations and passing on messages for life. So he’s thrilled to be involved in the Little Frog Books project, and hopes you enjoy his contribution, the Snails and the Wheelbarrow.
Fangjie Wang was born in Wenzhou City, China, and graduated from the Journalism Department of Wuhan University.
She is a national first-level broadcaster and editor. She has worked as a news editor and program host at the Wenzhou Radio and Television Station for more than twenty years. Her works in broadcasting and hosting have won first prizes in Zhejiang Province and Wenzhou City for broadcast television news, literature and art, and broadcasting and hosting awards.
Now, she is committed to promoting reading and training for children and adolescents, hoping to light up every child's dream through reading and fill every family with the joy of books.
