Amanda Key Designs is based in Nanaimo, BC

Amanda Key Designs is based in Nanaimo, BC

Trevor Angus
Gitxsan

“It is amazing having my designs on a range of Native Northwest products. It is a good way to share my art and get my name out there. My art can now be easily afforded and allows people to enjoy an item with one of my designs on it.”

 

 

Trevor Angus
Gitxsan

“It is amazing having my designs on a range of Native Northwest products. It is a good way to share my art and get my name out there. My art can now be easily afforded and allows people to enjoy an item with one of my designs on it.”

 

 

  • Ages 3+
  • Surface washable

 

 

Jamie Sterritt is a member of the Gitksan Nation in the Skeena river area of northern British Columbia. His work is based on traditional northwest coast design, and is true to Gitksan art. He acquired his interest in the art from his father and uncles who are accomplished artists and craftsmen in their own right. Jamie is a member of the Kispiox wolf clan. His Gitksan name is Wii Nagim Tts’uwingat.

Whether watching whales with kids or teaching a class, Dr. Sally Hodson loves to tell stories. Using the power of story, she hopes to inspire people to care for our planet and the animals who share it. Sally has taught elementary, secondary and special needs students, designed curriculum and trained teachers. She earned her doctoral degree at the University of Colorado, with a focus on environmental education, ecology and animal behavior. While the Executive Director at The Whale Museum, she helped coordinate the successful rescue and release of Springer, a wild orphaned orca. Sally lives on a Pacific Northwest island among cedar forests, bald eagles, and the orcas of Granny’s clan.

Ann Jones taught elementary school for many years, but her love for art found full expression ever since she moved to Orcas Island, Washington, in 1992. She lives there with her husband, three cats, and thousands of honey bees. Her studio is very near to the ocean. She likes to work with soft, colorful pastels, using her hands and fingers to apply the paint-a very tactile experience. She was just getting ready to start painting Granny for this book when she heard the distinctive sound of orcas exhaling. She ran to the shore and there was part of the clan, only about 20 feet away. What an auspicious start! Because individual orcas are identified by their fins, color patches and other markings, Ann made a point of painting the individual IDs so readers can identify the main characters in the story visually.

Ian McAllister is an award-winning photographer and author of numerous books. Ian directed the 2019 IMAX film Great Bear Rainforest and co-wrote the film’s tie-in book, Great Bear Rainforest: A Giant Screen Adventure in the Land of the Spirit Bear. A recipient of the North American Nature Photography Association’s Vision Award and the Rainforest Action Network’s Rainforest Hero Award, he and his wife, Karen, were named by Time magazine “Leaders of the 21st Century” for their efforts to protect British Columbia’s endangered rainforest. The co-founder of Pacific Wild, a Canadian nonprofit wildlife-conservation group, Ian lives with his family in the heart of the Great Bear Rainforest.

Nicholas Read is a retired journalist and journalism instructor who has written 10 books for children including two series about the Great Bear Rainforest with Ian McAllister. He lives in Vancouver, British Columbia with two rescued cats.

Ian McAllister is an award-winning photographer and author of numerous books. Ian directed the 2019 IMAX film Great Bear Rainforest and co-wrote the film’s tie-in book, Great Bear Rainforest: A Giant Screen Adventure in the Land of the Spirit Bear. A recipient of the North American Nature Photography Association’s Vision Award and the Rainforest Action Network’s Rainforest Hero Award, he and his wife, Karen, were named by Time magazine “Leaders of the 21st Century” for their efforts to protect British Columbia’s endangered rainforest. The co-founder of Pacific Wild, a Canadian nonprofit wildlife-conservation group, Ian lives with his family in the heart of the Great Bear Rainforest.

Nicholas Read is a retired journalist and journalism instructor who has written 10 books for children including two series about the Great Bear Rainforest with Ian McAllister. He lives in Vancouver, British Columbia with two rescued cats.

Mark Leiren-Young is a writer, documentary filmmaker, podcaster and orca activist. His book The Killer Whale Who Changed the World won the Science Writers and Communicators of Canada general audience book award. He wrote, directed and produced an award-winning documentary called The Hundred-Year-Old Whale, and his documentary about Moby Doll is being produced by Middle Child Films. Mark hosts a podcast about orca and ocean stories and is actively involved in the fight for the survival of the endangered southern residents. Mark has written for other young audiences for ABC, PBS, YTV, Treehouse and BBC Kids.  He lives in Victoria, British Columbia, with his partner and two cool Norwegian forest cats.