Molly Idle

Molly Idle

About the author

Molly Idle was born in Los Angeles, California, and moved with her family to Tempe, Arizona when she was six years old. She graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Arizona State University and after college, she began her career as an animator for DreamWorks Feature Animation studios in California for five years. She worked on the films The Road to El Dorado, Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron and Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas. She also was an animation artist for PBS Kids.

Molly’s first illustrated book, Emma's Gift, was published in 2003. Between 2004 and 2007, her self-illustrated books were published as part of the In God We Trust series of fiction. She began a wordless picture book series, starting with the publishing of her book Flora and the Flamingo, in 2013, which received a prestigious Caldecott Honour in 2014. She’s also the creator of the Rex series (which includes Tea Rex and Sea Rex), the mermaid tales Pearl and Coral, and most recently, Witch Hazel. It has been said that her drawing technique uses a layering of coloured pencil drawings.

Molly now lives in the sunny state of Arizona, where “she works and lives with her marvelous, multigenerational family which includes: her brilliant husband, two mercurial sons, two remarkable parents, two snugly cats and an inseparable pair of lovebirds”. When she’s not “making mischief with her boys, or watching old Technicolor musicals, Molly can be found in her workshop with a pencil in one hand and a cup of espresso in the other - scribbling away on her next book!”

She once said, “When I was little, I found that the pictures in stories spoke to me. And now that I’m grown, I make pictures and stories that speak for me.” 📖