MEET THE TEAM
Author Noel Smith and illustrator Ricky Baird
the creative duo bringing imagination to life through stories that they hope can inspire, educate and entertain. Together they make a perfect partnership – blending the power of storytelling with the beauty of illustration. They brainstorm every book side by side, making sure that both the words and pictures go hand in hand to bring the tale to life and create a world that young readers can get lost in. Their shared goal is simple yet powerful: to create books that the reader (regardless of age) will love to read and find a friend in the characters they create.
Click To Learn More About Noel and Ricky
Noel Smith
- As an author working with an illustrator, they have different roles. Noel writes and creates the story.
- Noel works in a school with a Primary One class. The boys and girls help give him ideas for his next book!
- They both share a goal: they hope to inspire kids to grow up reading and writing.
- A fun similarity is that Noel and Ricky are the same height! They are both 5 foot and 7 inches.
- They both love nature and think it can inspire them… that is why their books have nature themes. They want kids to grow up learning about the environment and how to take care of it.
- Outside of creating books, they both love music and enjoy going to concerts.
Richard (Ricky) Baird
- As as illustrator working with an author, Ricky has to take the story and bring it to life through drawings.
- Ricky has one niece and three nephews. He really wanted to help create a book they would love to read.
- They both share a goal: they hope to inspire kids to grow up drawing – and enjoy reading their stories.
- A fun similarity is that Ricky and Noel have the same eye colours (blue) and both have blonde hair.
- They both love nature and think it can inspire them… look at the different colours used in the books to show the different seasons! It is important we learn how to look after the environment and all the animals.
- Outside of creating books, they both love music and Ricky is currently teaching Noel how to play guitar.