Counting birds the idea that helped save our feathered friends

Heidi Elisabet Yolen Stemple grew up in Hatfield, Massachusetts, and after 18 years of living elsewhere, she has returned. She has also returned to the family business--writing children's books--after working as a probation/parole officer and a private investigator. Heidi is Jane Yolen's daughter and sometimes writing partner. They've co-authored several books together, including their History Mystery series (S&S) and Not All Princesses Dress in Pink (S&S). They also worked together on the nonfiction middle-grade Bad Girls: Sirens, Jezebels, Murderers, Thieves, and Other Female Villains (Charlesbridge, 2013), and their most recent picture book, You Nest Here with Me illustrated by Melissa Sweet (Boyds Mills Press, 2015). Heidi "starred" in her mother's 1988 Caldecott-winning book, Owl Moon .

Clover Robin is a surface pattern designer, collage artist, and illustrator. She grew up in glorious Devon before training at and graduating from Leeds College of Art and Design in 2007, and then earning a master's degree from Central Saint Martins in 2009. Clover delights in nature and all things botanical, inspired by a childhood of woodland walks, countryside rambles, and fossil hunting by the sea. She is currently based in Greenwich, London, where all of her artwork is lovingly handcrafted and created. She is the illustrator of the books Cut Paper Pictures and Counting Birds. Clients include: Paul Smith, Mollie Makes, Samworth Brothers, Project Calm Magazine, Angel Cab, Otter Garden Centres, AB foods, Princeton Architectural Press, The National Trust, Little Tiger Books, Filbert Press, Quarto Books, Macmillan Publishing, and Almanac Cards.