Anna was born in Seoul, South Korea, and immigrated to the United States with her family. As a child, she was always doodling around the edges of her notebooks and any loose scraps of paper she could find, but her first love was music. After training as a classical pianist and earning a B.A in psychology from Wellesley College, she devoted herself to teaching music to children. During those years of teaching, she discovered that drawing cartoons on yellow stickies worked magic for kids who couldn't sit still.

The idea for creating Danbi came while looking for picture books for her nieces. She thought there needed to be more character-based stories reflecting the multicultural world we live in, and created the indomitable Danbi and her diverse friends. In illustrations filled with intimate details, Anna brings Danbi to life, as she takes on the world with courage, ingenuity, and unbridled optimism. Anna's dream is that young readers will make Danbi their friend, and grow to celebrate with her the wonderful diversity of our world and the magic of friendship. Anna won an Asian Pacific American Honor Award for literature for Danbi Leads the School Parade. She lives in a quiet part of New York City, where she can see trees and hear birds.

Tell us more about Danbi

Danbi is a spunky and courageous little girl whose boundless energy and curiosity often get the best of her. She wants to fit in and be liked, but she also wants to do things her own way and is not afraid to break the rules.

To me, it is Danbi's flaws and vulnerability that make her lovable. She is clumsy and impulsive. She doesn't always think through things and often gets in trouble. Sometimes, she thinks she's not good enough and compensates by showing off. All kids do that to some degree, but that's especially true of those who are different. Eventually, though, she earns respect and affection from her friends by being true to herself and to her culture. Then she comes to see the world with a hero’s confidence that she can overcome whatever obstacles get in her way. She is my hero and I’m hoping my readers will feel the same way.