Nancy Tillman - Click to see all titles by this author.

“We woke up in the usual way, but it was not a usual day. Out on the lawn, plain as could be, stood an orange wishing tree. “I wish!” I said. “I wish!” said you. And so our double wishes grew.”

Author and illustrator Nancy Tillman was born in Birmingham, Alabama, and grew up in Columbus, Georgia. After earning a degree in English Literature from Rollins College she co-founded an advertising agency in Dallas, Texas. Nancy left her advertising career to stay home with her children. When her children were in high school, she began a greeting card company and began her career as an author and illustrator.

“The main goal of most every book I create is to give parents words to say what they feel about their children. I’m inspired by truth…especially the truth of how valuable every child is…and finding new ways to share it.” Nancy’s books have combined sales in the U.S. alone of more than 10 million copies. Five of her books are New York Times bestsellers.

Nancy’s illustrations are created digitally using dozens of layers of illustrative elements then merged to form a composite at which point texture and mixed media are applied. “I experiment with color… with composition… with feeling… I usually have an image in my mind I am navigating toward. As I move between illustrations, a theme begins to emerge that shows me how to make it all cohesive and how to balance text with illustrations.”

Nancy’s expressions of warmth and love for her son, Tucker, daughter, Tess, and granddaughter, Bonnie Jayne sweetly permeate her writing and illustrations. She lives in Oregon with her husband, a Pug, and a French Bulldog. She would have a giraffe if she could, but her husband won’t let her.