Lau­ra Barel­la lives and works in a house with cats, trees, and a ham­mock. She loves read­ing, play­ing ancient music with her hus­band, and spend­ing sun­ny after­noons with her sketch­pad and pen­cils in a row­boat on a near­by lake. A grad­u­ate of the Euro­pean Insti­tute of Design, she has illus­trat­ed many chil­dren’s books.