Bio

Ever since Mike can remember he knew he wanted to be an artist. His dad, who worked at MnDOT, would bring home reams of paper that had highway plans on one side and were blank on the other. He would be so excited to have all that paper to draw on and would fill each sheet with snowmobiles, baseball players, superheroes—everything he was interested in. His high school art teacher, Mr. Chase encouraged Mike to pursue art as a career. This, along with a scholarship, led him to the Savannah College of Art and Design in Savannah, Georgia. Since graduating with a B.F.A. in Illustration, Mike has illustrated over 30 books for children. He is also the author-illustrator of several picture books, including Ups & Downs, Dad’s First Day, and the Croc & Turtle series. His various clients include: Candlewick Press, Bloomsbury Publishing, Penguin-Random House, Christy Ottaviano Books, Holiday House, Clarion Books, Disney-Hyperion, Scholastic, Cricket Magazine Group, General Mills, 3M, and Medtronic. Along with illustrating and writing, Mike also enjoys visiting schools to talk to students about creating books.

A native of Spicer, Minnesota, Mike currently lives with his family in Minneapolis.