Author and Illustrator Kylee Cooke

Being a teacher for twenty years in a variety of settings from small rural schools to large schools, Kylee has taught hundreds of students and read twice as many children’s books. Kylee has loved drawing since she was little and one of her ambitions has been to write and to illustrate her own children’s books. Growing up as an only child in many small and remote towns in the outback and north of Queensland, Kylee learnt how to amuse herself, get dirty, help out climbing onto rooves, up scaffolding with tins of paint, carrying bricks and finding ways to have fun. She was always encouraged by her parents to draw and to create. Empowered by a preschool teacher who noticed her artistic abilities at a young age, she was encouraged not to follow those around her but to be proud of her own abilities. The greatest gift Kylee feels we have to offer each other is the ability to show people they matter, to understand and accept them for who they are and to encourage them to live their dreams, be happy and spread that positivity on to others. Kylee’s husband loves her creativity and her silliness and encourages her to follow her dreams of being an artist, author and illustrator.