Leona’s excitement for illustrating stories began at four years old, when her mom let her help paint the cat from Hey Diddle Diddle on the mural in her bedroom. Over the years, she’s painted murals with her own three kids, got her BFA from the University of New Mexico, and is now drawing silly animals and problem-solving kids for picture books. She lives in Albuquerque under a mountain that turns pink at sunset with her husband and son, two piano playing cats, and a laughing chihuahua.