Dara has been sketching animals and funny, little figures since she was a young girl. A freelance illustrator for the last 20 years, her work has never lost that sense of child-like wonder and magical delight. Dara’s spirited artwork has appeared in numerous publications from Your Big Back Yard Magazine to the New York Times. She has illustrated eighteen children's books and written and illustrated four. To inspire children, Dara visits schools and libraries to show children step-by-step what it takes to put together a picture book, and she teaches illustration at the Rhode Island School of Design, the Danforth Museum School, and the Concord Art Association. Dara lives in Sudbury, Massachusetts.