AUTHOR:Carleen Durand (née Hodgkinson) was born and grew up in Deniliquin, a small country town in New South Wales, Australia. She completed her tertiary education at Deakin University in Melbourne with a Bachelor of Arts in Disability Studies, doing a double major in Neurology and Paediatrics and doing a minor in Mental Health. Carleen worked in the Commonwealth Government in Canberra in different areas in the Disability field for many years. She also completed a creative writing course in Children’s Literature as well as a post grad Diploma Counselling course doing a double major in grief and loss and relationship and conflict resolution. Both courses were completed while Carleen was working. Carleen’s passion for taking on this topic herself grew when she discovered there was a huge need for the able-bodied child as well as adults to learn about children with challenges as well as many other issues in a fun, user-friendly way.Carleen has had first-hand personal experience of physical health challenges all her life, seen and unseen. These challenges encouraged her to think of ways to help educate children in this creative way.Carleen now lives in a country town in New Zealand with her husband Jonathan and three very spoilt adorable tabby cats: Isabella (Issy), Anni and Zuki.Welcome to the Wonderful World of Willaby Creek is the first book in the series ‘Down by Willaby Creek’.ILLUSTRATOR:Julia Dekker was born in England and emigrated to New Zealand in 1979 as a Registered Nurse. Julia has always been creative in the areas of drawing, sewing and gardening, and she loves animals. Along with her daughter, Julia now lives on five acres just outside a small town in New Zealand, along with two dogs, three cats, two geese, some ducks, lots of chickens and doves and a few friendly sheep. If you were to go to her home, you would find a treehouse in an old tree just like the one at Willaby Creek.