Mackenzie Joy

Mackenzie Joy is a children’s book author and artist known for crafting stories that blend rich illustration with engaging, thought-provoking narratives for young readers. She is the cocreator of the nonfiction picture book One Tiny Treefrog: A Countdown to Survival, developed with her creative partner and husband, author–illustrator Tony Piedra; the book introduces the life cycle of the red-eyed treefrog in the Costa Rican rainforest through a suspenseful counting-down structure.

In addition to One Tiny Treefrog, Joy is the cocreator of Pau: The Last Song of the Kaua’i ‘o’o, another nonfiction picture book about an extinct Hawaiian bird, and the author–illustrator of Wallflowers, expanding her body of work beyond science-focused titles. She and Tony Piedra, who collaborate under the moniker “Mak & Tea,” began working together in 2019 and have developed multiple picture book projects as a team. Joy lives in Northern California.